Wake Up Dreaming
by undead-hokusai
Summary: If you were in love would you be able to hide it forever? For Tenchi Masaki, the answer seemed like it would be yes... Reformatted old chapters chapter 6 added 6.13.09
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! Is copyright AIC/Pioneer Ltd.

All characters are property of their respected owners.

Wake Up Dreaming: A Tenchi Muyo! Story.

Chapter 1

The sun shown brightly down on the beach below reflecting light off the brilliant blue water. Birds made noises quietly in the distance. The wind was blowing softly and crystal clear seawater lapped peacefully against the sand. However, the serene atmosphere betrayed the view of the tropical beach. It looked like a war zone or bomb had just destroyed it. Bits and pieces of wreckage, twisted metal, and wood were strewn around the area completely ruining the smooth sandy landscape. Some of the debris was still on fire from the terrible crash. There amongst the smoldering ruin lying in the sand was a woman.

She was quite the breathtaking sight. Any man would go weak in the knees and tight certain other places just looking at her. She was the epitome of exotic female beauty. She was tall and muscular, but not overly so with strong slender arms and luxuriously long smooth legs. She had a tight stomach that showed just a hint of abdominal definition when she exerted the muscles. She had a rather full and large bust, but it was proportional to the rest of her body. Her facial features were nothing to exclude either. A large distinct mane of cyan colored hair adorned her head. Several thin, sharp bangs hung down in front of her face and two long thick locks hung in front of her ears by her cheeks. The rest of her hair was wild and spiked back giving her an extremely sexy, feral cat like appearance. She had a small thin nose with full sexy lips that made the most arousing expressions. To top it all off were thin cyan colored eyebrows above one of her most exotic features. Her eyes. The woman's eyes, although closed now, were an extremely vibrant amber-gold color, truly unique in the universe. And even that was an understatement of the brilliance of color. They tended to look more like hot chunks of molten lava, and gave off an entirely sexual connotation with almost every look. Her pupils were also not rounded like most humanoid creatures. Instead, they were vertical black slits, like a cat and only helped emphasize the appearance.

The woman's name was Ryoko Hakubi. She was lying of the deserted beach unconscious, covered in dirt and sand. There was dried blood caked on her forehead. She was wearing an intricately designed red and black skintight jumpsuit, part of which even covered half of her face. When it wasn't damaged at all, the suit left little to the imagination and now it was in ruins. The legging portion was badly torn exposing her creamy skin. One of the sleeves was almost completely torn off and the other one was quite mangled from the elbow down. The torso was torn and ripped in multiple places, exposing parts of her firm belly and one stray rip even went all the way up her right side exposing part of her breast and clavicle.

"Ungh—unh," Ryoko groaned in pain and discomfort as she regained consciousness.

She gingerly rolled to her side and coughed up seawater roughly and struggled to start breathing normally again. She rested her dirty sweat covered forehead in the warm sand trying to get bearings on her surroundings. She squinted as the bright sun shined brightly down upon her. She very slowly and tenderly moved her right leg, trying to pull it up to curl herself in a fetal position.

"Aaahhhhh---ungh," she screamed loudly in pain and immediately stopped moving it and started breathing out in rough gasps again.

She swallowed hard; her mouth was dry and tried to remember what got her here. She remembered that the leg and arm had broken as they were falling from the stars… She flexed her fingers and again pain shot through her but this time she only grunted. Her body must've repaired itself already, but she was extremely sore all over. She looked out to see the burning wreckage all around her. Suddenly her eyes widened with realization.

"TENCHI!" she yelled as best she could. Her throat hurt but she called again, "TENNNCHHIII!" Tears started to pour down her cheeks and she struggled to get to her feet.

She tried several times and eventually gave up on standing and just crawled to her hands and knees. She hurt all over but she still lifted her head and scanned the beach. She couldn't see her companion anywhere.

"TENCHhhiiii," she tried to yell again but her voice cracked and got weak. The tears flowed uncontrollably and her nose started to run too.

The pain she started to feel in her chest prevented her from moving anymore and the tears stung her eyes and made her vision blurry. She felt physically weak and fell to her elbows in the sand. Ryoko made one last effort and lifted her head and in one desperate attempt howled.

"TEENNNCHHIIII," she yelled as loud as she could. As she lowered her head she saw something in the distance. It didn't look like spaceship wreckage. It was far off and her eyes were still blurred. She wiped her face on her arm and looked again. It looked almost like a body.

"Tenchi!" Ryoko breathed to herself and the thought that it could be him filled her blood with adrenaline. The extra chemicals allowed her to stumble to her feet and run.

She ran as fast as she could towards the object. As she got closer her brow furrowed and she started to slow down. It wasn't him. It wasn't even a body. After slowing to a walk she limped over to a small jagged piece of twisted metal in the sand.

"Aaah – hua – aahh," Ryoko fell to her knees and started crying anew. Her chest was heaving and she took in as much breath as possible. "Arrrgh! TENCHIIII!" Ryoko screamed his name as loud as she could and smashed both her fists down on the twisted metal shattering it into separate pieces. "Ten – hua – ha –chiii," Ryoko moaned.

The tears rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably. Her thoughts were racing again but this time there weren't any glimmers of hope on the horizon. What if he really was dead? Ryoko clutched her head and screamed in heart-wrenching pain.

"My Tenchi, My Tenn – chiiii…" Ryoko sniveled.

For all her strength, she could barely hold herself up. She let herself fall over onto her side in the sand. After a few minutes her panic started to subside. Her thoughts were a little clearer, coherent.

"Ungh," she moaned and wiped her eyes on her arm. He has to be alive. No reason to break down over one false alarm, Ryoko reassured herself. Her thin cyan eyebrows quickly shifted downward into a worried face as she scanned the beach in both directions. Tenchi was strong but he couldn't regenerate. What if he was hurt somewhere? Ryoko shook her head as her thoughts began to grow darker. She took a deep breath and tried to take off. She only got a few feet off the ground before she felt drained. She drifted back to the soft white sand and knelt down. Her breathing came out in puffs and her hair whipped in the wind.

"I won't give up… My Tenchi," Ryoko said to whatever spirit may be listening, hoping it would carry her message to its recipient. She slowly rose to her feet and tried to fly again. She grunted and forced herself to go further and faster down the beach.

***

"_Aeka, please!" he begged. "Please stay here! I don't know what I would do if you got hurt," he wanted to say more but he didn't know what else to say. _

"_Lord Tenchi," Aeka said, "I thank you for the concern but I cannot let you fight alone. What if something were to go wrong? You might need my help," she said all in one breath. "What if – you…" she started again but Tenchi placed a finger against her lips. _

"_I won't. And I'll be back here soon. I promise. I promise I'll be back for you." _

"_Tenchi!" Aeka exclaimed foregoing her usual formal title for him. Her brilliant fuchsia eyes widened as ideas of what Tenchi might say next danced in her head. "Please, Tenchi. Please don't say something you don't mean," her normally confident high-pitched voice was suddenly shaky. _

"_I promise you I'm coming back," Tenchi said sternly and looked straight into her eyes. _

_He leaned closer and pulled her gently toward him. Aeka held her breath and closed her eyes as she felt Tenchi's lips press against hers. It was a strong and confident kiss. Aeka relaxed and began to melt into his strong embrace. And then it was over. She frowned inwardly wishing it had lasted longer. By the time she got back to reality, Tenchi had turned away and started walking down the long corridor away from Aeka's room. _

"_Tenchi. Tenchi!" Aeka called down the hallway. _

_He didn't look back. He felt terrible for doing it but he would break if he responded to her. He would never be able to go through with it. He had never kissed one of the girls like that before. He licked his lips. Admittedly, it was pleasurable, even if it was so short. He never __**lied**__ to one of the girls like that either. That didn't sit well with him at all. I hope this works he thought. If it doesn't… he sighed and tried not to think about it. _

"_Goodbye, Aeka…"_

***

"Uhhhngh," a young man, Tenchi Masaki, groggily moaned and opened his dark brown eyes. He felt as if bricks were weighing them down and it took all his strength to find out he was staring straight up into a bright sun. He squinted as he looked up. His throat was dry. He tried to talk, make some kind of sound but he couldn't.

"Hey, hey there don't move," a slightly nasally female voice, said. "You're pretty messed up and I haven't gotten to patch you up yet."

He vaguely realized that he was moving. In what, he didn't know. Who was even talking to him? Was he hallucinating? Who knows? All of a sudden whatever he was moving in hit a bump and unimaginable pain shot through his body. Tenchi yelled out in pain and tried to move instinctively and more pain shot through him.

"Ryoko," he mumbled and blacked out.

"Hm… sorry about that cutie," the nasally voice said.

***

The cyan-haired beauty looked up for a moment, her eyes widening, as if she heard someone call her name.

"Tenchi?" she asked whimsically.

She scanned the beach for anything that might have been the object of her search. She breathed a tired sigh and looked up at the sky, listening to the complaining cries of strange birds.

"Are we even on Earth?" Ryoko asked aloud.

She couldn't tell. There were many planets that resembled Earth when there was no civilization around to define them. She had started to give thought to some questions that quite honestly she didn't care about the answers too, but they helped her keep her mind away from the depressing thoughts that had almost crippled her search for Tenchi before she had even started it. She looked back down and started clearing away some more wood and metal debris from the space tree's wreckage.

"Tenchi…" she sighed.

Every time she tore through a big piece of debris a pit formed in her stomach. Every unchecked area gave way to anxiety. What if he was trapped under something she missed? Worse, what if she found a mangled corpse.

After going through one especially large chunk of the Juraian battleship, Ryoko stopped and sat down pulling her legs up to her chest and hiding her face. She felt so helpless. There was nothing around here, time was against her, and she had no clue where she was. At least if she could get back to Aeka and the others they would be able to help look. Aeka. Her thoughts stopped and dwelled on the violet-haired princess for a moment. She let out an odd choking sound as tears forced their way from her eyes. She hugged her legs closer as her chest seized up tighter and tighter. She bit her bottom lip but it didn't stop her from crying.

***

_She followed Tenchi silently through the halls of the great ship. A mischievous smile played across her lips in the dark as she stalked her prey. Ryoko wasn't one for sleeping too long and when she heard Tenchi come out of his room, she decided to follow him. She stopped suddenly and furrowed her brow as she realized where he was going. She flew up and quietly perched behind the large ornate wooden carvings adorning the hallway. The royal quarter was dark. Tenchi stopped in front of the large door at the end of his destination. He visibly shivered and stood still for a moment gaining composure. Ryoko wasn't too sure what he was doing; she narrowed her feline eyes and strained to listen as Aeka came to the door. _

"_Damn," she whispered quietly to herself. _

_Even with her excellent hearing, she couldn't make out what they were saying. Ryoko swallowed hard and reeled from her perch as she watched Tenchi grip Aeka's shoulders. Her heart pounded in her chest as she watched and suddenly it seemed to come to an icy halt. Tenchi tenderly pulled Aeka's face towards his and kissed her. Ryoko trembled from her hiding spot and blinked several times. It didn't stop the tears. She quickly moved a hand up to cover her mouth as a small whimper escaped her lips. She turned her face away and teleported to the very small quarter of the ship she was staying in. Once in the room she stumbled and collapsed to her knees before she even made it to the cramped bunk. She was crying so hard that she barely made sounds. Huge heaves of breath escaped her as she replayed the image of __**her**__ Tenchi willingly pulling Aeka to him and kissing her. _

***

Similar heaves of breath escaped Ryoko's lips now as she relived the heart-shattering event again. It had come to her repeatedly throughout the day as she had searched for Tenchi.

"Aaaaaaargh! I hate you Tenchi! I hate you!" she screamed as loud as she could and gripped the sides of her head. "I need you, My Tenchi. I need you," she whimpered.

After a few minutes Ryoko finally regained her composure and looked up. It was getting dark. The planet's moon was already shining in the sky and a few bright stars started to dot the sky.

"No!" Ryoko exclaimed. She started to panic. "I let too much time pass. Tenchi…" all her thoughts were focused towards finding him.

She turned to get up and fly away but she ran right into a huge lumbering figure. Her strength sent the hulk flying but she did recoil out of surprise.

"Get her now!" a booming voice yelled.

With lightning speed Ryoko swiveled around toward the voice and her fingers pulsed as pure orange energy seeped from them into her palm. The energy condensed into a small sphere and she closed her palm igniting the ball into a long plasma like blade. She quickly saw that there were several attackers. They looked human enough but their weapons sure weren't. One of the smaller humanoids launched his rifle-like weapon. Ryoko easily dodged it and threw her lance at his feet causing a mild explosion in the sand. She re-ignited the sword in her right hand and her left hand trembled slightly as the same energy quickly built up in her forearm and pushed its way out of her fingers into her palm.

"Go! Go! Don't let her escape!" one of the voices yelled out.

Ryoko gracefully back-flipped out of the middle of the group of attackers and scattered them with the small sphere of orange energy. They continued to fire at her. Even in her exhausted state they were no match. She had fought for centuries against the most powerful beings in the universe as one herself. These thugs with guns weren't a threat.

"Hey!" she yelled. "Who are you? What do you want from me?" she called to her attackers while dodging and deflecting the energy blasts they fired at her.

There was no answer from her attackers and one lucky shot got by her defenses. The glowing blue blast hit her right shoulder. She suddenly lost her saber as her arm went numb.

"What the hell?" Ryoko yelped and ignited the sword again but in her left hand this time.

She launched the sword at one of the dark attackers. The explosion sent him flying along with two of the others. With superhuman speed and grace she rushed the big one she bumped into at first and this time smashed her fist into his face. Pleased with the sound of his nose breaking, Ryoko turned towards the remaining three. It was too late. All three shot their beam like weapons and before Ryoko could teleport to safety all three blasts hit her. She forced her arms to reach out and catch herself as she fell forward into the sand. She groaned and looked up. The leader who had been barking all the orders stepped out with his own weapon drawn and looked down at her.

"Bring the containment unit! Please be careful, this one's feisty!" he yelled.

Ryoko looked around and more humanoids wearing strange suits and masks seemed to appear out of nowhere. Ryoko was suddenly filled with panic. _I can't let him down_ she thought.

"Tenchi!" she yelled.

With a roar of power she stood up and fired multiple orange energy blasts a full 360 degrees around her. Mini explosions all around her sent many of the masked men flying into the air. Blue plasma bolts fired back in response at her hitting their mark. Ryoko was too tired and weak to fend off these simple humanoids. She felt herself slipping into unconsciousness but before she did there was only one thing on her mind.

"TENCHIIII!" she called out again as loud as she could manage. And then, it was dark.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! Is copyright AIC/Pioneer Ltd.

All characters are property of their respected owners.

Wake Up Dreaming: A Tenchi Muyo Story.

Chapter 2

_It was an unusually hot spring day in Okayama, Japan. Tenchi stood up straight and wiped his brow after finishing the first half of his fieldwork for the day. He inhaled, enjoying the earthy mountain air. _

"_Tenchi. Oh, Tenchi. Yoo-hoo! Tenchi!" a soft feminine voice cooed. _

"_Ryoko!" Tenchi exclaimed looking up at the cyan haired beauty. _

_Wow, she looks great, he thought, admiring her curvy silhouette. She floated lazily above him and seemed to be slowly moving downward like a leaf drifting from side to side. As Tenchi called her name she quickly increased her speed and crashed into him with her arms outstretched, knocking the wind out of him as he fell over and locking him into one of her bone-crushing hugs. _

"_Oof! Hey, Ryoko," Tenchi said only half annoyed. _

_The ground was hard but she was soft. Ryoko strategically released her hold around his chest, slowly and sensually moving her hands up his body to pin his arms down above his head. She also firmly placed one shapely leg on either side of him, effectively straddling him. Tenchi gulped and shivered as the feeling of her warm breath massaged his ear. _

"_I like it when you say my name, Tenchi," she moaned suggestively. _

_He swallowed again and let out a barely audible sigh as her sultry voice caressed him. Ryoko pulled away slowly batting her thick eyelashes and curling her full lips into a provocative smile. As she loosened her grip on Tenchi's arms, he instinctively used his small opening to grab both of her wrists and hold them down against his chest. Ryoko's cheeks turned bright red at his sudden move and she arched an eyebrow noticing the position he put her in. Both of her full breasts were generously pushed forward between her arms. _

"_Oh, Tenchi, be gentle with me now," Ryoko moaned making a sexy pout and squeezing her ample breasts together with her arms. _

"_Whooo – ah, hey, Ryoko…" Tenchi stuttered, quickly releasing her wrists to tug on his collar. _

_He suddenly felt as if the temperature had gone up quite a bit. _

"_Mmm, Tenchi, you're no fun," Ryoko said crossing her arms over her chest emphasizing her assets again, this time not on purpose. _

_She turned her head and closed her eyes feigning disappointment. Tenchi quickly moved to rest on his elbows. "Hey now, I told you to um…" Tenchi trailed off, staring up at her. He found himself just looking at her face, captivated by her exotic beauty. She noticed he stopped mid-sentence and turned opening one of her feline eyes, looking down at him. _

"_What? What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" she asked innocently and started rubbing her face with her sleeves, looking even more like a bathing cat. _

"_Nothing, it's nothing Ryoko," Tenchi said regaining some composure, reaching up and once again taking one of her wrists in his hand. _

_Tenchi coughed awkwardly and turned his head to the side, his eyes quickly darting back towards Ryoko then out into the distance. _

_She was wearing one of her loosest outfits, a strange blue dress with thick horizontal yellow stripes going down the legs and arms. And yet, it still wasn't loose enough in the parts that mattered. Ryoko stared at him and her cheeks seemed to glow a brighter red than his. What was she thinking, Tenchi thought to himself? _

"_I – uh… I brought you lunch!" Ryoko chirped, quickly jumping off of him and floating above him now sitting in a cross-legged position in mid air. _

_She pulled out a familiar bento box. _

"_Hey that's mine!" Tenchi exclaimed, quickly relaxing now that he was in a less compromised position. "Sasami said she made me lunch but I couldn't find it this morning to take with me. How did __**you**__ manage to find it?" Tenchi said in a mocking accusatory tone. _

_He studied Ryoko's face closely. She giggled with her eyes shut tightly and the tail like appendage attached to her belt wagged back and forth furiously. He motioned with his hand and beckoned her down to the ground again. _

"_I don't know but… I guess we'll have to share it," she said coyly as she landed noiselessly on the ground next to Tenchi. "Since it belongs to me right now." _

_Tenchi looked at her with one raised eyebrow as if contemplating. _

"_Oh all right," he said in fake defeat. After taking a few minutes to dust himself off and relocate, they sat together near the edge of the newest carrot field sharing what Sasami originally packed for Tenchi that day. _

_It was quiet. Too quiet for Tenchi. He looked over now and again stealing glances at Ryoko. He used to push her away a lot. Physically and mentally. Recently though, he started to let her in. He wasn't consciously sure when he started to, but he was aware that they were much closer then they used to be. Even more recently he admitted to himself that he was closer to her than he was to any of the other girls as well. _

_He glanced over quickly again and swallowed hard. He really never tried to think of women as objects especially, Ryoko. He didn't really know if he was in love with her or not but regardless of that there was something that set her apart from any other woman. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on. But he was a man and sometimes all he could think of was her body; which was an exemplary piece of art as far as he was concerned. He eyed her again this time trying to sneak a good look at her rear end, when he noticed her 'tail' was just lying on the ground limp except for the occasional thumping of the tip. He shifted his gaze up to her golden eyes and watched them mesmerized. She was staring out over the mountains, her golden orbs half shut hidden behind long thick black eyelashes. _

"_Ryoko?" Tenchi questioned. _

"_Hm?" she answered but didn't look over. _

"_You okay?" Tenchi said casually. _

"_Yeah…" she said oddly distant. _

_Tenchi knew her better then that. He was about to ask a follow up question when Ryoko spoke. _

"_Tenchi, how long do you think we'll be able to do this?" _

"_Hm? What do you mean, Ryoko?" Tenchi responded, although he already had a pretty good idea what she was getting at. _

"_You know, just everything. I don't like what's been happening. Everything going on with Jurai. Noike. Especially her," she spoke the last sentence with a not-so-subtle distaste. _

"_I thought you didn't mind her?" Tenchi said trying to quell whatever might be brewing. _

_Ryoko looked over at him, her golden eyes weren't what he thought they would be. Instead of the malice Tenchi was expecting, he only saw a very deep worry. _

"_She's okay," Ryoko responded flatly. "Its… just… I don't like where things are headed. I don't want this to end. I want to be here with you forever," she said the last part blushing softly and looking down at the food in her lap. _

_Tenchi didn't answer for a moment. He just looked over and smiled. _

"_Hey, cheer up! Who knew you were such a worrier, Ryoko," he said in an upbeat tone. _

_He had secretly been thinking the same thing as of late. He didn't want this whirlwind he now called 'normal' to end either. Ryoko eyed him again but didn't look convinced of anything. He placed his hand on her shoulder. _

"_It'll be okay, alright? Nothing's changing anytime soon," Tenchi continued to reassure. "Trust me," he said moving his hand to her cheek and gently making her look up at him. _

"_I do."_

***

_Aeka was breathing hard, her large brilliant pink eyes burning with anger. Across from her, Ryoko stood, staring back at her rival. Her golden feline eyes equally agitated. But there was something else. A thin line of tears trickled down Ryoko's face and a big red handprint graced her right cheek. _

"_How DARE you trap Lord Tenchi and come here alone with him! You… You… Harlot!" Aeka growled. _

_She was furious and hurt. A small festival was taking place near the Masaki shrine grounds and Ryoko snuck off and went with Tenchi, alone! By now the commotion had caused a small crowd to form around the two women. Ryoko held the left side of her light lavender colored kimono up above her breast. It was brand new and it had just been torn up during her most current fight with the Juraian Princess. Ryoko's voice trembled but it was no less menacing. _

"_You stupid bitch! I've had enough of you!" Ryoko yelled. _

_She ran full speed at the petite princess who didn't flinch for a second. Ryoko didn't charge up any energy blasts in front of all these regular Earthlings though. She tackled Aeka, who audibly let out her breath as Ryoko knocked her to the floor. She immediately grabbed a fistful of Aeka's hair and pulled. Aeka screeched and clawed at Ryoko grabbing and tearing more of her garment. The two tumbled around cursing and pulling each other's hair._

"_Ryoko! That's enough!" Tenchi's voice stopped Ryoko's retaliation dead in its tracks. _

_She immediately relaxed her grip on Aeka's long luxurious violet locks and stared back at Tenchi, confused. She opened her mouth several times but no words came out. She looked back at Aeka and both women quickly backed away from each other as if one might launch a counter attack any second. Aeka growled obviously ready for Ryoko to start more. _

_Ryoko quickly swiveled her head back to Tenchi. Tenchi visibly recoiled after getting one look at Ryoko's face. She still looked livid but at the same time, she looked quite hurt. Fresh tears leaked from her eyes creating new streams down her face. Her bottom lip trembled slightly but she made no sound. She turned and looked around noticing the crowd of people staring at her and Aeka. She looked down at the ground and her cheeks burned with shame. Her bust was still covered by the fabric but barely, and the new rips made it even worse. She hastily tugged the tattered cloth up to cover herself and shoved through the crowd. Once in the clear she broke out into a run leaving everyone else behind. _

_Tenchi reached his hand out to Aeka and she took it gracefully. _

"_Thank you, Lord Tenchi," she said dusting herself off. _

_Tenchi frowned once she had gotten to her feet. _

"_Aeka… are you okay?" he asked. _

_Was that disappointment in his voice? Aeka shook her head. _

"_Yes, I'm fine Ten…" before she could finish her sentence, Tenchi had dashed off pushing his own way through the crowd in the way Ryoko had run. _

_He saw her up ahead running into the forest leading back towards the shrine and Funaho. Ryoko just kept running and didn't look back. She stumbled a couple times and kicked off the awkward sandals that went with her outfit. She didn't stop until she reached Yosho's great tree. Ryoko stood just inside the forest surrounding the planted tree ship, her breath escaping her chest in ragged puffs. _

_She let go of her torn kimono and rested her arm against the trunk of a thick tree just on the edge of the clearing. She heard a rustling of shrubbery and Tenchi's heavy breathing and he appeared out of the darkness a few seconds later. _

"_Jeez, I didn't know she could run so fast," Tenchi huffed to himself. _

_He rested his hands on his knees for a moment to catch his breath. At first Ryoko didn't face him but as she heard his footsteps approach she turned. _

"_Stop!" she begged. _

_Her bottom lip quivered and her eyes narrowed in anger and pain. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks and reflected in the full moonlight. _

"_Its not my fault this time! I didn't do anything wrong! She slapped me!" she yelled. _

_The kimono she was wearing was heavily damaged and the obi that held it closed had come loose as she ran. She tugged it, tightening it a little bit but it did little to help. She was practically spilling out of it. _

"_Why are you angry at me! You always take her side! It was my turn! MY turn!" She yelled again. _

_Across from her Tenchi stood. He was dressed casually, wearing a pair of jeans accompanied by his traditional navy blue haori. _

"_Ryoko!" Tenchi said firmly. _

"_No!" Ryoko yelled back defiantly. "It was supposed to be MY day!" she said angrily through her tears. _

_She turned away and slammed her fist into the tree she was standing next to. Her strength easily split the trunk of the large tree. The ripped kimono slipped over her shoulder exposing more of her soft, flawless skin. She sank to the ground and cradled her head. A lump formed in Tenchi's throat and he looked down at the ground. He blinked several times. He shook his head and slowly and, cautiously took a few steps towards Ryoko. He paused, furrowing his brow and strode over to Ryoko's side with determination. He knelt down next to her and pulled her against his chest. She didn't offer any resistance and instead turned toward him burying her face in his shirt and continued her odd crying. He knew she was struggling to stop herself. _

"_Ryoko, I… I'm," Tenchi tried to think of an excuse for his behavior. There wasn't one. "Ryoko, I'm really sorry," he said softly rocking her back and forth and petting her head. _

"_You said," came Ryoko's muffled response. "You promised. I – it was just going to be us tonight," she sniffled. "You promised me – I just – I wanted…" she struggled to get her thoughts out while she was so upset. _

"_I know, I just… I'm sorry," Tenchi said, again coming up speechless. _

"_But you said! You said she wouldn't know! I just… she shouldn't have – aarrgh!" Ryoko cried into his shirt and banged on Tenchi's chest once with her fist in frustration. _

_It was only a tiny fraction of her strength but Tenchi knew he would feel it in the morning. It by no means was an official 'date' but it was the closest thing Ryoko ever had to one. It was going so well too, she hadn't had that much fun since… well to be honest she had never had that much fun. Someone genuinely wanted to be with her, and only her. It only sweetened the deal that it was the only thing in the whole fucked up universe that she cared about. Aeka! She ruined it all! Tenchi heard her growling through her tears. _

"_Ryoko, its okay. It's my fault, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. It was just… I was – I…" Tenchi didn't know what he was going to say. _

_He just held her, gently running his fingers through her soft hair. It seemed to calm her down and just kept whispering his apologies until she calmed her breathing. He rested his chin on top of her head and closed his eyes taking a deep breath, inhaling the sweet smell of her hair. _

_Eventually, Ryoko relaxed in his arms. Her breathing calmed down and she sighed against him. Tenchi just continued to rock her and they listened to the songs of crickets in the night air. Ryoko rested her ear right over his heart. The rhythmic thumping could soothe her worst moods. I could listen to that sound forever, she thought. _

_It seemed like a lifetime but finally Ryoko gently pulled away from Tenchi's chest. She let out a light gasp of air realizing that he had been holding onto her bare skin. Not that she minded at all but this felt too good to scare him away from. She turned and pulled her kimono back over her the best she could. Tenchi saw her struggling and unfastened the middle of his haori and took it off. _

"_Here," he said draping it over her. _

_Ryoko turned to him startled and blushed brightly. _

"_I got this for you, you know?" she said after a moment referencing her kimono. "It's not exactly like your Mom's but its close and I thought you would…" "Find it beautiful," Tenchi finished. Ryoko looked at him strangely. "Tenchi?" she asked cautiously. Her heart fluttered from the comment. He liked it! He liked it! Wow, I got a compliment from Tenchi! Ryoko's thoughts raced and her blush returned. _

"_Yeah," he said adjusting himself so that he was sitting right next to her. _

_He turned to her and put his hands on her chin tilting her head in his direction. He heard her breath catch in her throat and he just looked at her. He knew he was staring and after a moment he noticed that she was staring very intensely into his eyes. Her pupils shifted back and forth very fast as if she was searching for something in his face. She looked deeply for several long moments, her eyes probing for… something. And just that fast, she found it. Her own catlike eyes widened and she let out a clear gasp. Tenchi had looked into her eyes too, but he was already accustomed to looking at what she had apparently just discovered. _

_His brow furrowed as he saw the mental shields come back up. Ryoko narrowed her eyes seductively. _

"_You know, we're alone here," she said making small circles on his chest with her index finger. "You could 'make up' this whole thing with me now," she cooed moving closer and letting the haori open, exposing just the right amount of cleavage. _

_Tenchi didn't flinch or run though. Not this time. He uncharacteristically reached both his hands up and cupped Ryoko's cheeks in his hands. She stopped her advances and he saw her shield go down again. _

"_I will make this up to you. I promise. And this time, it's one I'll keep." He spoke the words earnestly and Ryoko felt like she could melt into his arms right then. _

_She held her breath waiting for those three little words. _

"_Not tonight though, okay?" Tenchi added. _

_Ryoko sighed. She thought she should be disappointed but oddly she wasn't. There was a promise for more. She looked at him and smiled one of her rare genuine smiles that only a select few ever saw. In the Masaki house, Tenchi and Sasami were the only ones to ever see the sight. _

"_Alone?" Ryoko asked gingerly. _

_Tenchi smiled back. _

"_Yeah. Just you and me," he said. "Come on now let's get back to the house. It's been a long day," Tenchi said standing up and offering his hand down to her. Ryoko looked up for a moment before taking his hand and letting him pull her up. "You believe me right?" Tenchi said as they left the clearing. _

_She smiled one of her mischievous smiles that Tenchi was used to and intertwined her arm with his so they would need to walk closely together. _

"_I do," she said softly as she leaned her head on his shoulder and the pair slowly made their way back to the Masaki house. _

***

"_RYOKO!" _

_The cry echoed through the fire and burning courtyard of the Juraian ship. A tall man with long thick black hair tied into a ponytail and a gleaming blue energy blade was cowering in fear. In front of him Ryoko stood looking every inch the menacing monster she once was. This time though there was no mind control. Ryoko snarled in anger baring her teeth. Her two canine teeth were slightly longer than a human's giving off the intimidating appearance of being fangs. _

_She cracked her knuckles and launched herself at the armored knight attacking viscously. Tears of rage flew from her eyes, which had completely filled with a red glow. Alarms blared and officers and crewmembers scattered all over the ship like ants. In the middle of the grassy courtyard field of the Juraian tree-ship, the reason for Ryoko's bloodlust rested. Tenchi lay, face down, bleeding in his intricate blue, brown, and white battle armor. _

"_Damn it, Ryoko! Think about this! I can give you more then you ever could have imagined. I am about to take over Jurai! Anything you want can be yours!" the dark knight yelled trying to do anything to stop Ryoko's onslaught. _

_She launched volley after volley of orange plasma and every time she got close swiped at him with her claws. She relentlessly attacked the knight and he kept withdrawing even after landing several heavy blows on her. _

"_Aaahhhrgh!" Ryoko let loose a mighty battle cry and the evil Juraian narrowed his eyes before quickly parrying her attack and smashing her right arm with his armored shoulder. _

_She howled in pain and dropped to her knees. She gripped her broken arm tightly and tried to attack again but now the longhaired warrior had the upper hand. She shut her eyes waiting for his blade to come down on her neck but it didn't happen. She opened her eyes and looked up to see the evil warrior staring out into the courtyard with a look of sheer terror on his face. Ryoko turned to see what gripped him and couldn't help but let a yelp of joy escape her. Tenchi stood poised, a gleaming sword of pure energy pointing in the direction of his adversary. Shining white armor and long flowing ribbons of cloth shimmered and moved as if wind were flowing through the ship. Three large brilliant white Light Hawk Wings floated silently in front of him, and three bright triangles glowed on his forehead. _

"_Let her go!" Tenchi's voice boomed. _

_Almost instantly Tenchi moved between the warrior and Ryoko. Tenchi turned to Ryoko, the three triangle symbols of the Light Hawk burning on his forehead. _

"_Do you trust me Ryoko?" Tenchi asked. _

_She didn't even think before the words escaped her lips. _

"_I do," Ryoko answered. Without another word Tenchi turned back toward his assailant and Ryoko shielded her eyes as everything in front of her became blindingly bright. _

"_TENCHI!"_

***

"Oh, God! Ryoko!" Tenchi yelled loudly and bolted upright, finally awake.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! Is copyright AIC/Pioneer Ltd.

All characters are property of their respected owners.

Wake Up Dreaming: A Tenchi Muyo! Story.

Chapter 3

"Ryoko! Ryoko…" Tenchi gasped.

He felt as if he had been held underwater and he desperately called out for his life preserver. A cold sheen of sweat covered his body and he hurt all over.

"Shit," he cursed under his breath and reached up to wipe his face with his forearm.

As coherent thinking skills caught up with him he perused his surroundings. He seemed to be in a… house? He looked down at himself. He wasn't wearing anything except his boxer shorts and they looked like they had almost been burned off of him. He tugged the thin sheets of the bed he was laying on up to cover himself.

"Where am I?" Tenchi mumbled, as he looked around the room confused.

"I can answer that," an unfamiliar female voice answered.

"Whoa!" Tenchi jumped as the quiet atmosphere was suddenly interrupted. "Wh-who are you?" Tenchi stuttered pulling up the sheets further and looking towards the doorway of the quaint bedroom.

What he saw reminded him of a stereotypical 'nerdy hot girl' image from Earth. She was a little shorter than he was and he judged her physical age to be around twenty-four. He wasn't too quick to lock that in though. Almost everyone he knew had ages that numbered in the hundreds at least and they sure didn't look it. She wore thick black-rimmed glasses and had long semi curly powder-purple hair. Aside from those noticeable features she seemed rather plain, although Tenchi admittedly may have been a little biased on that note. He was used to living with women of exceptional physical beauty after all. She wore what looked like a simple t-shirt from Earth and a pair of snug fitting shorts.

"I'm sorry. My name is Miyuki and you are residing in my secret underground lair," she said in a nasally voice that eerily reminded Tenchi of Little Washu.

Tenchi just looked at the woman dumbfounded, and then turned his head toward a window with sunlight showing through it.

"Okay, so you aren't at a secret lair, so much as you are at the Leiko estate on the planet Orakk," Miyuki said much less enthusiastically then before. "I live here with my father." She paused for a moment. "You're Juraian, aren't you?"

"I – uh, well that is…" Tenchi sputtered, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"A simple yes would have sufficed," Miyuki said flatly. "I'm a doctor, and I just graduated from the Galactic Academy. I moved back home to help my planet. Which, by the way, I had the pleasure of watching you crash land on. I've already done an extensive physical on you. You are quite lucky to be alive. And, you're quite lucky I had the medical capabilities to help you heal." Again Miyuki paused.

Tenchi didn't say anything he just sat there absorbing what Miyuki was saying and trying to play catch up.

"Crash…" he murmured.

"Furthermore, blood test analysis showed that you were clearly of Juraian decent." Miyuki continued to explain. "Ahem! However, the reason you're here and not at a hospital is because of some very interesting information," Miyuki said, launching into another detail list of information.

Tenchi had already stopped listening. Why did we crash? Why did we… Tenchi's thoughts stopped cold. We.

"Uh – urm, Miss… ah – Miyuki was it? Did you happen to uh – recov – uh – recover anyone else from this… crash?" Tenchi uttered and a very cold feeling started to form in his stomach.

"No," Miyuki replied quickly. She wrinkled her nose and adjusted her thick glasses looking annoyed. "Well, what's your story?" she asked impatiently.

Tenchi had zoned out again. No. He swallowed hard. What happened? God damn it, what happened? The thoughts raced through Tenchi's mind, but everything outside seemed to move at a snail's pace. We… were fighting. Kurai and I fought. I knew I could beat him though. I knew I could win hand-to-hand combat. He was a coward. I knew Ryoko would follow me. Especially after I told her not too. Tenchi replayed the last coherent images he had of consciousness in his mind. It was all part of the plan, he thought.

There was no way… Tenchi's usually warm; caring brown eyes seemed cold and lifeless as he stared at the wall across from him. Miyuki grabbed his arm and checked his pulse, followed by his heartbeat and other vital signs. Tenchi saw her gently waving her hand in front of him. Her mouth moved and he could tell she had raised her voice a bit but he couldn't hear.

"Ryoko… Ryoko…" he chanted softly willing the memories to return.

***

_Tenchi sighed and sat in the training room of Aeka's Juraian flagship. He took a deep breath and set the Tenchi-ken down in between his feet. He crossed his legs and put his hands on both his knees drawing in more deep breaths, calming himself, and attempting to reach a meditative state. He could hear the echoes of his breathing in the enormous empty room. How can I win? Tenchi thought. I can't, can I. He opened his eyes and let out a stressful sigh. He was supposed to be thinking about the upcoming battle but he couldn't seem to focus at all. Aeka, Noike, Mihoshi, Sasami, Washu. He loved them all but not enough. He didn't love them enough to do this anymore. And yet… he did. Could he hurt them? No, not intentionally. But I have to do something, somehow… his mind answered back. They say they don't mind waiting everyday. That our family is perfect just the way it is and can only get better. They're liars. Maybe they aren't though. Maybe they are happy to live like this until the day comes that I say, 'I love you' to one of them. Tenchi opened his eyes. _

"_That day isn't coming though…" he murmured aloud. He closed his eyes again and grimaced as he recalled a strange event from earlier that week. _

"_Tenchi, you love all the girls don't you?" Funaho gently prodded. Tenchi looked back and forth between her, Misaki, and his own sister, Tennyo. _

"_Well… of course," he said cautiously. "I love them all equ…" _

"_But do you __**love**__ them," Misaki emphasized. Tenchi looked to his sister for help but she just smiled sadly and closed her eyes. _

"_Tenchi…" the First Empress of Jurai nudged gently. Tenchi looked down at his hands, which he was fidgeting with in his lap. It seemed like hours went by. _

"_No," he answered finally. _

"_Oh, but I think you do," Funaho's gentle brown eyes widened for just a second. Tenchi didn't respond. "I'm sorry," she said heavily. "This might not come as joyously as I thought it would then," she added after a moment. "Tenchi… Lady Seto, your Grandfather, the Emperor, Misaki, and I have come to a decision that we thought you were ready for. Apparently that is not quite the case but we think you'll grow into it, so-to-speak. The time has come," Funaho spoke serenely. _

_Tenchi raised his eyes and looked at his great-grandmother. _

"_After this is all over, you have officially been betrothed to both my daughters, and Lady Washu. This is of course in addition to your existing betrothal to Lady Seto's adopted daughter, Noike," Misaki continued. _

_Tenchi gulped audibly and rubbed his brow. _

"_You look less than enthused," Funaho commented. _

"_These marriages will strengthen Jurai's political ties indefinitely. I had hoped that even if you weren't happy that you were marrying all of these women, you would at least take solace in the fact that the single one you loved was among them. It's okay to have a favorite," Misaki chimed as if it would make him feel better. _

_Tenchi's shoulders sagged and he looked down again. _

"_I see. She isn't among your new fiancés is she?" Funaho continued. _

_She looked over at Tennyo, who only nodded slightly. _

"_Well, that does seem to present a problem. Tenchi. I think you have to tell 'your someone' that this is how it must be. I assume you will be keeping her as your mistress. I'll make some arrangements. Come sister, lets leave Tenchi to his thoughts," she said smiling at him. _

_He wished he could wipe it right off her face, no matter how sweet she acted. Misaki and Funaho stood up together and silently glided out of the chamber after bowing slightly towards Tenchi. _

"_Tennyo, how could you let them…" Tenchi started. _

"_I tried Tenchi. They said that this had a greater purpose behind it," Tennyo stopped talking before something even worse came out of her mouth to hurt her little brother's feelings. "It's Ryoko, isn't it," she said after a few minutes of silence. _

_Tenchi just looked at her. _

"_I'm sorry," Tennyo said genuinely before gracefully getting up and straightening her traditional Juraian attire. _

_As she walked by she placed her hand on Tenchi's shoulder and squeezed. Tenchi shifted his gaze up to her. She was smiling. _

"_Do whatever you need to do. I love you, little brother. Remember that. Dad and Rea do too." she said._

_It seemed like simple enough advice but then why did Tenchi find it to be so cryptic?_

_Tenchi sighed and continued his meditation. The 'secret' meeting with Funaho and Misaki was two days ago. His realization of romantic feelings for Ryoko came just a few days prior, before they even knew something was wrong on Jurai. He hadn't had the chance to speak a word to Ryoko of those feelings yet, although he had the strangest feeling that she already knew. He had to come to terms with it himself before he told her. Only then did he start to consider the other girls. He loved all of them like family. That standstill that gripped him then, and seemingly always gripped him now with even more stress added. _

"_Who I love doesn't seem to fit into the way things are playing out," he thought aloud. "What am I going to do? I can't just… run away…" he muttered, dropping his hands to the floor unceremoniously. _

_Suddenly Tenchi's eyes snapped open. Run away. He felt as if his epiphany had just arrived. Grandpa did it, why can't I? He frowned. It didn't feel right, to leave them all like that, that's why. It was hard to walk away from your family. People you would die for. Die. For. Them. Tenchi opened his eyes. _

"_I would die for them." He whispered the powerful phrase to no one, and then he knew what he was going to do._

***

"Hey! Hey! Snap out of it!" Miyuki said literally snapping her fingers in front of Tenchi's face.

She tugged softly on the long section of his hair that he kept tied back a couple times for good measure. Tenchi blinked and shook his head.

"Uh - Miss Miyuki, please, I'll tell you everything you want to know but I need you to take me to uh… wherever it is that you found me. Please," he begged.

Miyuki scoffed.

"You aren't going anywhere. You haven't even told me your name or what the hell you're doing here or…" she started making a long list of the things Tenchi hadn't done for her yet.

Agitated, he reached over and grabbed Miyuki by her shirt collar.

"Please," he said calmly as three distinct triangle shapes appeared and glowed bright white on his forehead.

"Okay, okay," Miyuki said, fear creeping into her analytical voice. "Maybe I'll go find some clothes for you first, huh?" she said nervously.

***

"Tenchi, huh? So what are you, like, Jurai's best-kept secret? I mean those are some high ranking names you're throwing around pretty casually," Miyuki said as she skipped over some rock debris trying to keep up with Tenchi. "Hey come on, not all of us are as fit as you," she complained. "So are you telling me that Aeka, the First Princess of Jurai might be here? And she could be hurt? Our planet is going to be so screwed if they find her here. If she's injured! Oh crap! I'll be dead meat! I found some no-one but didn't look for the First Princess!" Miyuki said coming to her own conclusions since Tenchi decided to only tell her parts of his story.

He conveniently left out the parts about his complicated love life and the fact that he was a direct heir to the throne of Jurai, along with a few other choice tidbits of information.

She seemed nice enough but Tenchi wasn't stupid. This Miyuki couldn't be trusted just yet. He didn't have anyone to fall back on or call upon for help if he gave away too much. Showing her his hidden Juraian power may have already been too costly of a mistake but he was desperate to find Ryoko.

"You're sure it was here?" Tenchi asked as Miyuki finally caught up to him.

He looked out over the beach wearing a dark pair of pants that looked a little like denim from Earth but it was more flexible and breathable. The shirt Miyuki had given him was less than comfortable but it was loose and didn't irritate any of the bandages that seemed to be all over his chest. She rested both her hands on her knees gasping for breath.

"Yep, positive," she croaked. "It's been a good two days though, I mean I don't know what you're expecting to find. If your friend is alive, I'm sure she didn't stick around here. What was her name again?" Miyuki asked.

"I didn't say," Tenchi answered. Miyuki rolled her pastel green eyes in annoyance and pushed her glasses up.

"More direct answers please? I'm trying to help you," she said. A tiny glimmer caught Tenchi's eye in the sand nearby.

"Ryoko," he breathed and dashed towards it.

"What did you say," Miyuki stuttered feeling an icy chill go down her spine. She stood frozen as Tenchi reached the shimmering object.

"Damn," he cursed to himself kneeling down and using his hands to dig deeper into the sand.

He pulled the long intricate wooden hilt of the Tenchi-ken out of the hole and inspected it. Two small red gems embedded at the base of the hilt glimmered brilliantly in the sunlight overhead. Tenchi sighed in disappointment. It wasn't Ryoko but he guessed it was a step in the right direction. He turned back and stared oddly at Miyuki.

"Are you alright, Miss Miyuki?" he asked. She looked like she had just seen a ghost.

***

_Warm gold and red colors smeared the sky of Okayama, Japan. It was a glorious late summer afternoon and the yellow sunlight bathed the countryside. Everything seemed peaceful and quiet. The lake was calm, the shrine was empty, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, just quiet. A rare occurrence indeed for a residence normally teaming with activity, of the intergalactic kind. However, just beyond the reaches of the Masaki household, there was some activity in the nearby trees. _

"_Damn it. Come on, Ryoko…" Tenchi complained. _

_He stopped running and leaned against one of the trees near the house panting for breath. _

"_Tenchi…" He heard Ryoko's voice echo ghostly behind him. _

_A wry smile appeared on his face and he turned around quickly. _

"_Gotcha!" he said, but when he turned no one was there. _

_Her playful laugh echoed around the forest and he saw her appear above him just out of reach. _

"_Hey! I let you teleport, but flying was definitely a no," Tenchi said lightheartedly. _

_Ryoko covered her mouth and chucked. _

"_Come get me then, __**My**__ Tenchi," Ryoko said affectionately. _

_She landed a few feet in front of Tenchi, her bare feet gently padding down on the grass. She was wearing that odd dark blue dress with the stripes again, just like she wore that day in the field a couple months ago. Was it really that long ago? Almost three at least, Tenchi mused. _

"_Come on, lover-boy. I'm here," Ryoko motioned with her finger for him to come closer tauntingly and moved behind a tree. _

_Tenchi just stood there motionless for a second before sprinting toward the tree. He quickly ran around it and saw Ryoko half running, half teleporting away moving closer to the house. Tenchi rolled his eyes groaning and continued the chase. Ryoko looked back and saw Tenchi far behind her. She slowed to a quick jog and stopped her teleport jumping. She chuckled to herself again. _

"_This sure is fun isn't it, Tenchi?" she called back to him. _

_She closed her eyes and twirled around in the grass right behind the Masaki household a few times before looking to see if Tenchi had caught up to her yet. She gasped as she felt his strong slender arms close tightly around her. _

"_Gotcha!" he exclaimed and the two of them struggled for a moment before falling forward onto the ground. _

_They rolled around in the soft grass laughing before Ryoko had enough and stopped them, pinning Tenchi down. She rolled over on top of him, pressing his shoulders into the grass. She tugged slightly on her long dress pulling the soft fabric up to her knees so she could comfortably sit on him. She looked down at him and he looked back at her. She felt like melting looking into his beautiful eyes. She could feel his tense muscles but it was excitement, not fear. Time seemed to stand still and two words worked their way to the front of her mind. Kiss him. She didn't know what caused her to do it. Maybe it was the hot summer afternoon or maybe it was the fact that no one was around. Maybe it was because she thought they were close enough now that she could actually get away with it. _

"_Tenchi…" Ryoko said softly. _

_Tenchi bent one of his legs upward, inadvertently pushing his thigh against her rear. Ryoko sighed slightly and responded by sensually moving her bare calf under his. _

"_Well, we've been here before, haven't we?" Tenchi said looking up at her._

"_Oh yeah, I definitely remember," Ryoko said with a hint of sexuality. She bent over a little bit and lowered her voice. "You seem to like it a whole lot more this time though," she said adding much more then just a hint of sensual depth to her words. _

_She leaned even closer. The two long locks of cyan hair that hung next to Ryoko's cheeks in front of her ears found resting places on Tenchi's neck and chest. He was captivated by the smoldering glow of her unique golden eyes but one look downward into the wide neck collar of the dress and he would have an eyeful of her ample cleavage. _

"_I don't have to hold you down so tightly," she said, her hands resting only lightly on his shoulders. _

_She leaned in again, almost parallel to his body now, letting more of her weight settle on top of him. Her soft breasts pressed against his chest and their noses were almost touching. All was quiet for the two of them for what seemed like an eternity. Ryoko seemed to move her face closer to Tenchi's painfully slowly, her alien eyes gradually drifting closed. She let her other senses stretch forward. She could hear him breathing. The natural masculine smell of his skin was so close, giving off the faintest hint of sexual pheromones. She felt his heart pounding against hers. She felt her own breathing getting more and more labored. _

"_Ryoko… wait" she heard Tenchi's reluctant voice in a hushed whisper. As he uttered the warning though, his hands gently moved up her thighs and rested on her hips contradicting his words. She was so close. _

"_Tenchi, please. I – I can't stop," she breathed huskily. _

_She was suddenly jolted from her perfect moment by what seemed like a gust of wind. _

"_Hey," She heard Tenchi say. _

_She opened her eyes slowly to look… up? Tenchi had reversed their positions and was now looking down at her. Ryoko had two fistfuls of his shirt and her head was swimming. _

"_Ryoko," Tenchi breathed. _

_He was breathing in ragged gasps and blushing profusely. He didn't look mad though. In fact, he looked like he was just as caught up in that steamy moment as she was rather than his usual embarrassment. Ryoko shook her head slightly. _

"_Tenchi! I… I need..." she didn't know if her cheeks could blush any deeper, but they felt like they were on fire. Please, Tenchi, please, take me. Kiss me, Make love to me, and __**make me**__ scream your name until I don't have any breath left. Her mind begged the words to be spoken but nothing came out. Tenchi was still a little flushed himself, and now he was on top of her! _

"_Wow…" he mumbled, marveling at her beauty. Her soft cyan hair was spilling out in all directions. Her hot breath caressed his neck beckoning him closer. He had her just where he wanted her. Do it! His mind urged him. Do it, just move your damn hand, pull her close and kiss her damn it! __**She**__ wants it; she's wanted it for years. More importantly, __**YOU**__ want it just as much as she does now!_

_He watched a bead of sweat move lazily down the curves of her neck. Her breasts pushed against his chest with every intake of breath. The seconds moved by impossibly slowly and in his mind the one bead of sweat on her neck turned into a passionate sheen covering her entire body. He could almost hear her erotic moans of pleasure and feel her fingers running through his hair every time he pushed himself a little deeper into her. __**Do it!**__ His mind practically screamed to him. _

_In reality Tenchi was breathing like he had just run a marathon as one of his hands very slowly and carefully started to pull Ryoko's dress up higher revealing her taut thigh. Now it was Tenchi's turn to lean closer. He nervously placed one trembling hand on her cheek. I'm going to do it, he thought to himself. He closed his deep brown eyes and he heard Ryoko whimper in pleasure. She gripped his shirt tighter and awkwardly tried to wrap her leg around him. Her breath came in short quick bursts. Tenchi could feel the words were just about to escape his lips before he claimed hers. 'I love you, Ryoko' but instead he heard his own name being called out close by. _

"_Tenchi! Tenchi! Are you out here Tenchi?" Sasami's voice called from the side entrance of the house. _

_The call instantly snapped Tenchi and Ryoko out of their moment. Ryoko looked up, wide-eyed, her chest heaving at an equally shocked and out of breath Tenchi. Her eyes begged him to finish his unsaid sentence. _

"_Ryo – ko…" Tenchi started. _

_There will be time to be physical later, just say it! Hurry up and say it! All sorts of alarms went off in his head begging him to say those three little words. _

"_Tennn – chi!" Sasami's call rang in the air again, this time, closer. _

_Ryoko looked upward in the direction of Sasami's voice then back at Tenchi one last time before teleporting, leaving Tenchi alone in the grass. _

"_Oh! Tenchi there you are! Are you okay?" Sasami said rounding the corner of the house. Her twin light blue ponytails bounced with her steps. She noticed he was lying on the grass still panting and ran over to him kneeling down. _

"_Um – uh – yeah Sas – Sasami, I'm okay," Tenchi said returning to reality, even though he was yearning for Ryoko to come back. _

"_Are you sure? You've been acting really weird lately Tenchi," Sasami said. _

"_Yeah? You think so?" Tenchi said, scratching the back of his head nervously. _

_Sasami raised and eyebrow deviously then smiled extra sweetly. I'll get whatever it is you're up out of you Tenchi, she thought to herself. She had an adorable face and knew how to use it. _

"_Well come on in now, dinner is ready," Sasami said. "I can't find Ryoko anywhere," she added suspiciously after Tenchi had gotten up and brushed himself off. "She's not in the house." _

"_Oh, well – I'm sure she's around here," Tenchi said nervously, and started walking toward the house with the young Juraian princess. He looked back over his shoulder longingly for any glimpse of Ryoko but she was gone._

_Ryoko teleported all the way to the large floating onsen over the lake and stumbled over to the step of the second tier before collapsing to her knees and hunching over on the warm wooden floor. She was trembling, shaking with emotion. _

"_Tenchi…" she moaned in frustrated pleasure. _

_She swallowed hard and stuck her hand between her legs and squeezed them closed. She breathed heavily and felt sticky liquid running down her inner thighs, through her clothing. _

"_Uuhngh," she moaned incoherently. He was so close! We – we were so close! Her mind was racing a mile a minute. "Tenchi, oh Tenchi," she mumbled daring to imagine just what might have happened if they weren't interrupted. _

_Tenchi pressing his lips against hers and pulling her dress up just a little bit higher. She hugged him close as he buried himself inside her, proclaiming his love as he claimed her. _

_Ryoko shook her head and let out a long drawn out breath as she leaned back into a sitting position and looked up through the glass dome of the exotic bathhouse. She took several more deep breaths trying to calm herself. Tenchi. She was in love with him, that was obvious. However, since that night of the festival… she was almost positive that he loved her too. She looked into his eyes that night. She had been so angry but, he followed her to apologize and hold her, faster then he ever had before. She searched his eyes for a long time that night, confused at first because she couldn't tell what emotion he was looking at her with. But in one instant, she knew. It wasn't an emotion she could identify right away because it was one she had never been graced with before until she saw her own reflection in his big brown eyes. Love. She saw the exact same look in his eyes that night, which she saw in her own. She was afraid though. Ryoko, the space pirate who had destroyed entire planets was deathly afraid because an Earthling boy hadn't told her that he loved her yet. The festival was a month ago, and she was still troubled by the fact that maybe she'd seen wrong. Did he love her? She looked into his eyes today. His gaze was even more intense then the night of the festival. He almost kissed her. We almost – did a lot more then that, she thought. Large, fat tears rolled slowly down Ryoko's cheeks. She didn't try to hide them or brush them away. A small smile played on her face. Tenchi loves me. _


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! Is copyright AIC/Pioneer Ltd.

All characters are property of their respected owners.

Wake Up Dreaming: A Tenchi Muyo! Story.

Chapter 4

"What did you say?" Miyuki demanded.

"Huh? What are you talking about," Tenchi said furrowing his brow in confusion.

"Di – did you say… Ryoko?" Miyuki said, her voice trembling.

"Uh… yeah," Tenchi said slowly, but not quite understanding Miyuki's reaction until it was too late.

"The Demon of Jurai! Shit! She's here? And she's alive? Wh – who are you really?" Miyuki sputtered. "You know what, it doesn't even matter. I have to call this in to the Kurru Station right now!" Miyuki spun around and quickly started to make a mad dash to her hovering vehicle that stood idle close by.

Tenchi growled in anger and reached out to grab the scrawny girl.

"Hey!" he shouted. "Do you know where she is?" he demanded yanking the small doctor back by her collar.

"Don't hurt me! I just don't wanna die!" Miyuki said with tears in her eyes.

Tenchi's own eyes quickly softened and he released her.

"I – I'm sorry. Miyuki. Please, I need your help. I need to find her," he begged.

"What on Orakk would you want with a monster like that?" Miyuki spat in disbelief. "She'll kill us all! I may not have been alive back then but I've seen all the footage! The old news reports! More importantly, I've seen the damage! She's pure evil!" the light haired young woman started rattling on and on about the hatred she and apparently many people still held for Ryoko.

Tenchi frowned and his heart ached. Maybe his idea wasn't so well thought out after all. He didn't even consider the fact that the rest of the universe may not have forgiven Ryoko for the destruction and death she had caused. They didn't know the whole story though. They didn't know how Kagato manipulated, controlled and forced her and Ryo-Ohki to commit those crimes. He sank to his knees and stared at the ground. His found his breathing a bit difficult as his chest seemed to seize up. He closed his eyes and smiled a very sad but enlightened smile. My heart hurts for her, he thought. I am in love with her. I really am.

"I'm in love with Ryoko." He said the words clearly and he felt a tremendous mental weight instantly vanish.

"What!" Miyuki stammered. "Are you insane? Have you been listening to what I've been saying?" She said hysterically.

She stamped her foot in the sand and Tenchi reached up and grabbed her wrist gently. He looked up and stared into her green eyes, his own brown ones glistening with unshed tears.

"Sit down with me Miyuki, I think there's some more you should know," Tenchi said.

***

Darkness swallowed the room. Grungy metal and twisted nightmarish machinery hissed. Slow methodical dripping from somewhere in the room echoed on the concrete walls, making music with the dilapidated equipment beeps. Thick black wires and tubing hung from the ceiling and stream periodically sprayed outward from sockets and connecting points. Small computer panels barely lit up the dingy underground dungeon laboratory. The small panels dotted the walls and some of the clunky geometric machines. In the middle of the room a large contraption that looked a little newer than the rest loomed over everything spreading jagged twisted shadows throughout the already chilling room. Long, thick, grimy tentacle-like limbs extended from the bottom and top of the strange device restrained a suspended female figure in its center. The big metal limbs hissed softly adjusting ever so slightly every time a small weight imbalance caused movement. At their ends, the tentacles had big cuff-like pieces that clamped securely down on the young woman's shins, biceps, and forearms. One small special arm that was thinner than the rest had a secure grip on her left wrist. Lights and advanced looking paraphernalia adorned its cufflink. A large round machine covered with large blinking lights rested like a demented crown on the woman's head. Wires seemed to slither down from the darkness and attach themselves to the odd head ornament.

Ryoko was the young female captive. Her body hung limply from the metallic tentacle arms. She let out a low sorrowful moan as she opened her eyes and regained consciousness. Her normally bright, mischievous gold orbs seemed dull and tired. And indeed, she was exhausted, alone, heartbroken, and afraid. Although the machines were disgusting and looked out of date they were writhing with advanced technology underneath their skin. Technology that she didn't know anyone but Washu, Kagato, and possibly Jurai's scientists could possess. Beads of slimy sweat rolled down her face, dripping off of Ryoko's chin. She moaned in pain and gently turned her head slightly to look up at her restrained left arm. The small thin robotic tentacle attached to her wrist squirmed and twitched as if it were a sentient being. The organic metallic material also seemed to expand and contract as if it was sucking the life out of her. It wasn't doing that exactly but it was extremely painful. Kagato used a similar technology on the Souja when Ryoko had attacked in blinding rage at the thought of Tenchi's death. He had used it to draw upon the power of her gems and restrain her while he attempted to capture Tsunami. This tentacle seemed to be doing the same thing; draining her of power.

"Whoever you are! Stop! Stop it!" Ryoko cried, pleading to whomever was controlling the contraption to stop the excruciating pain.

She had stopped using her usual method of threatening her captors with pain after the first day of torture. She struggled weakly and the other larger tentacles had no problem restricting her movements. Large electrical surges shot through the tentacles eliciting shrieks of pain from their captive. She convulsed and shuddered trying to pull away but that just resulted in more intense shocks. After almost five minutes of continuous shock, the room dimmed down to a dull gray-brown once again. Ryoko's golden eyes were glassy and tears caused by the shocking pain trailed down her cheeks from the corner of her eyes. Her chest heaved and she panted heavily as she slowly recovered.

Ryoko eyes stared downward at the cold concrete floor below her.

"Just kill me," she mumbled.

It had been almost two days since she was captured that night on the beach. Well at least two days from when I first regained consciousness, she thought. Ryoko felt hollow and empty. The tears that had previously been forced by physical pain were now emotional.

"Tenchi…" she sobbed. She didn't want to think he was dead, but if he weren't, how would he find her? She had failed him, and he would certainly have forsaken her because of that. She felt her heart being torn into pieces. Doubt and rejection filled her head. _What if I only saw what I wanted to see at the carnival? Was he just going to use me? Take advantage of my feelings and my body? Then abandon me, throw me away like some kind of… whore?_ Ryoko shook her head.

"My Tenchi… My Tenchi…" she wailed. "He DOES love me, he does! He's not like that! He won't leave me here!" she shouted into the darkness.

A second wind seemed to flow through her and even though her left arm burned with considerable pain she pulled it forward roughly, triggering the electric shock. She thrashed and shook, the neon blue electrical charges lighting up the room surging through her. She growled loudly and her eyes started to take on their usual intense golden glow. She let loose an angry roar that shook the machines around her. The machines increased their charge tremendously but they couldn't quell Ryoko's rage this time.

"Aaaarrrgh – ha!" she screamed and used the last amount of energy she could muster to force orange plasma out of her hands into the machines holding her. And suddenly all was quiet. She whimpered as the savage pain stopped. The machines held her still but she could hear them sizzling and short-circuiting.

"Ten – chi! I'm here, Tenchi!" Ryoko cried hysterically. She yanked her right arm and she heard the metallic mechanisms fail. Using her last bit of strength ripped the arm from its socket plugged into the ceiling. Steam and crackling electricity spewed from the mechanized orifice like a wound. She gasped loudly when the contraption's power suddenly seemed to fail. The tentacles still held their grip on her but they could no longer suspend her in the air. She collapsed to the ground with a thud and clanking of metal. Ryoko reached up and furiously yanked the ring-like ornament off of her head and pulled the wires out of it. Using all of her strength she hurled it at the wall causing a small explosion.

It was quiet for a few minutes. She sat on her hands and knees panting heavily. She swallowed hard and drops of sweat fell to the floor.

"Tenchi! I love you!" she moaned.

***

"Please, Miyuki. I know some of it is hard to believe, but its true. Especially the parts about Ryoko. She's not what you think. Not anymore," Tenchi pleaded.

Miyuki sat in the sand about an arm's length from Tenchi with her arms crossed.

"That's very hard to swallow. Can you prove any of it?" she said skeptically.

"Well…" Tenchi started.

He couldn't. He didn't have a thing on him and no other witnesses from his home to prove anything different. Wait. He did have something.

"Here, this won't prove everything I'm telling you but it will at least prove that I'm related by blood to the Juraian Royal Family," Tenchi said and held out the Tenchi-ken.

"A piece of wood that you just dug up?" Miyuki said flatly. "What do you think I am, stupid?"

"Trust me," Tenchi said and handed the odd looking hilt over to Miyuki. "It's the master key. A powerful sword that once controlled a Juraian tree-ship and held Ryoko captive for seven hundred years on Earth." Tenchi said. "Only members of the Juraian royal family can touch it."

"Psh, yeah okay like I'm going to believe that," Miyuki said rolling her eyes and she reached out and grabbed the sword.

No sooner had she said the words and gripped the hilt that the sword began to glow and blue bolts of electricity shot outward from it, shocking the smart talking girl. She yelled in pain and tossed the sword aside into the dirt.

"Ow! Oh crap! That hurt," she said clutching her hand close to her chest.

Tenchi just looked at her with a smug expression on his face and reached over, effortlessly retrieving the Tenchi-ken. Miyuki stared daggers back at him and huffed in frustration.

"Even the whole 'Prince of Jurai' thing is a little strange. I mean if they really did know about all of you living on planet Earth, wouldn't they have just made you all live on Jurai in the first place? Woulda been a hell of a lot safer then some backwater planet." Miyuki stated trying to break Tenchi's story. "And you know what, you're right that doesn't prove anything about the biggest problem here which is that the Demon of Jurai is here!" Miyuki said, her voice slightly cracking and the mention of Ryoko.

"Well first of all, some secrets are better left where no one knows about them, like Washu and Ryoko for one thing," Tenchi said. "And secondly, Emperor Azusa let Aeka and Sasami stay on Earth with me because they asked him to," Tenchi said.

"My, my – a little close to the princess, aren't we, Tenchi? First name basis, no formal titles of any kind?" Miyuki said teasingly.

Tenchi looked down and lowered his voice to a mere mumble.

"No, I… uh – well, yes she's my… um…"

"Lover?" Miyuki finished the sentence sarcastically. "You look like your normal and nice enough but it seems to me that you like to play with the girls a lot there, eh Tenchi?" Miyuki said narrowing her eyes and jabbing him in the ribs.

"No, I don't," Tenchi said, suddenly serious.

"Well you could have fooled me," Miyuki said, not the least bit intimidated.

Tenchi sighed.

"Look, Miyuki. I need to find her. I'll do anything. I – I just need her," he said looking into her eyes.

Miyuki looked back and for some reason she felt a little… bothered. He is so cute, she thought looking back into his puppy dog eyes. She turned away to hide her blushing cheeks and mumbled to herself. After a few seconds she wrinkled her nose and adjusted her glasses again.

"Okay fine," she said. "You had better be right about this," she added quickly. "And… I want you to start answering my questions!" she said lightheartedly.

Tenchi looked back at her wide-eyed. A slow smile crept onto his face.

"Alright," he said surprised at her cooperation.

***

Ryoko knelt there, feeling exhausted and drained. And even though she seemed to make the restraining tentacles malfunction, the small special one sucking at the gem on her wrist still seemed as active as ever.

She heard the hiss of a door opening in towards the front of the dingy containment area. The echo of heavy boots bounced off the walls as a large daunting figure walked toward her. She wanted to try and tear the remaining tentacles off of her and run but she didn't have the strength. She just continued to pant and stared at the floor. The footsteps kept on coming closer and finally two large combat type boots appeared in her field of vision.

"Look here, Demon," a deep voice commanded.

Ryoko refused. The man was huge. He looked human but he had to be at least seven feet tall. He was very well built and wore a dark green military suit type uniform under a large heavy black cloak. He had dark tanned skin and a strong angled chin. His head was covered in short cropped dark green hair and he had icy blue eyes that looked like they held an intense dislike for his cyan haired prisoner.

"I said look at me!" the man commanded angrily and knelt down and forcefully grabbed Ryoko's chin and forced it up towards him.

Ryoko struggled and the large man swiftly hit her across her face as hard as he could. She yelped in pain and fell over clumsily since the metallic arms still had their grip on her.

"What are you doing here, monster?" he spat.

"I don't know!" Ryoko yelled back.

Judging by how these people captured her and by how they were treating her now, Ryoko thought it best not to mention Tenchi at all in case he was alive somewhere.

"There are no ancient ruins for you to plunder here, you wretched creature! You had better come up with a better excuse then that! We know who you are, Demon of Jurai!" The menacing man said with venom.

Ryoko rolled back onto her knees and tried to get up to her feet but her tormentor kicked her side with bone-crushing force. Ryoko gagged and coughed clutching her side with one arm the other one still restrained by the draining equipment. He smiled seeing her on the ground in pain.

"How does it feel to be at the mercy of those you thought you destroyed?" he said nastily.

Again Ryoko attempted managed to get to her knees.

"You look like a pathetic whore, you sorry excuse for life," the military figure said.

Ryoko was still catching her breath and she tried to look as angry as possible with the man. In truth, every sentence he spoke felt like someone throwing acid on her heart. Memories and images quickly rose to the surface of the crimes she committed. Men, women, and children's bodies covered in blood. Entire planets destroyed leaving only smoldering ash and space dust. So much death and murder, usually for trivial artifacts and information leading to the whereabouts of Tsunami.

Laughter rang out in Ryoko's ear.

"Are you crying? I didn't think it was possible for something like you to cry!" the large man said in between demeaning laughing.

Tears blurred Ryoko vision and she choked out whimpers of guilt and pain. The man knelt down again to her level.

"Look at you. How can you even show emotion? How can you have a conscience after all you've done to the universe?"

Ryoko tried to retreat weakly and move further into the dark disgusting room.

"Come here!" the man said and reached forward grabbing Ryoko's face in his hand.

He pulled her forward so that she was mere inches from his face. Her eyes were wide with fear and tears and shaky sobs escaped her. The unnamed assailant lowered his voice to a raspy growl.

"Maybe there's still something your good for, huh? How many times have you been used up space trash? You any good with that pretty mouth? You haven't said much so I only imagine you spend most of your time down here on your knees."

Ryoko trembled and tried to pull away again and he hit her sending her to the ground. She fell over in pain and desperately pushed back against the floor trying to move away from her attacker.

"Stop! Get away from me!" Ryoko yelled at him.

This only seemed to infuriate the man. His intense eyes grew wide with rage and he pulled his arm back ready to punch her again. Ryoko anticipated the hit this time and sent her own free fist flying towards his. With all the strength she had left, her knuckles smashed into his easily shattering the bones.

The big man doubled over in pain falling away from Ryoko clutching his arm. He screamed profanities in agonizing pain and Ryoko just backed up further away from him. The power on the grimy metallic arm drawing power from her gem increased ten fold sending waves of intense pain through Ryoko as well. Two more men in identical uniforms rushed into the dark room hurriedly and helped the larger man in the cloak get to his feet. He was growling and yelling all sorts of curses at Ryoko while bodily fluids ran from his nose, eyes, and mouth.

"Fuck! Damn that bitch!" he yelled.

Jagged pieces of snapped bone protruded from the huge man's mangled hand. The two soldiers escorted him out without saying a word or looking at Ryoko. As soon as they were gone, the pain in Ryoko's arm went from excruciating to just a dull sting.

And just like that, it was dark, cold, and lonely again. Ryoko covered her mouth with her hand and a mournful sob escaped her throat. She was shaking uncontrollably and tears created rivers down her cheeks. Her painful cries echoed on the dark walls and she covered her entire face with her hand.

"TENCHI!" she screamed his name at the top of her lungs before continuing her deep soul shattering sobs.

***

Tenchi awoke with a start.

"Ryoko?" he said looking around.

"Hey there cutie. You alright?" Miyuki said from the driver side of a strange hovering vehicle.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Tenchi said. "I just thought I heard someone call me," he said mystically.

"Hm nope, just me here and its been a pretty quiet ride," Miyuki said.

Tenchi stayed out on the beach all day until it had become too dark to keep on searching. He wanted to stay even longer but Miyuki eventually convinced him that they could come back tomorrow.

"You know, she's probably alive," Miyuki said gingerly glancing over at Tenchi. "I mean, if she has even half the power people claimed she had… well then she had to have survived," she continued trying to cheer Tenchi up.

It didn't help. But Tenchi was focused on something else now.

He was sure he heard someone calling him. It wasn't the first time this had happened either. He remembered another time when he had the same feeling. He was at home in Washu's lab. She was performing some tests on him trying to figure out more about how he was able to summon Light Hawk Wings. He could hear her then too. It felt like Ryoko was calling to him. Shortly afterward, everyone found out that Dr. Clay had captured Ryoko and that an imposter android, Zero, was posing as Ryoko to get to Washu. Tenchi never did find out if Ryoko had 'called' to him for help before she was taken but he had his suspicions. Tenchi let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed his face and eyes.

"Where are you?" he said to himself.

"Don't worry, we'll find her. I've logged in what areas we've searched into my ship's computer. After all, there is only a certain area she could be in. We can head out earlier so we can get up to this region tomorrow morning," Miyuki said pointing at a northern point of the beach on her holo-map.

Tenchi rested his cheek in his hand and stared at the map.

"Thanks, Miyuki. For everything."

***

A small screen crackled and lit up, coming to life in the darkness. A very large man stood over the control panel impatiently rubbing his left hand, which was wrapped, completely in a white cast. After a few moments the screen flickered and another man appeared on the other end.

"Kurai is dead?" the first man said.

Only a nod from the other was given.

"Well then I guess you don't have to worry about your job anytime soon," he said darkly. "I have something you might want," he said and flipped a few of the switches near the control screen.

The other person on the screen narrowed his eyes and smiled evilly as an image of the captive Ryoko appeared before him. As quickly as it appeared, it disappeared and only the cloaked man remained.

"You know the statute of limitations on Ryoko went up about three and a half years ago?" The man on the other line answered. "You should just give her up to Jurai. I'm sure we can find a way to… deal with her," he said.

"Oh don't worry, she'll be 'dealt with' with or without any Juraian consent or interference," the military man responded covering his injured hand.

"Haraj…" the Juraian official said threateningly. "You will hand her over to us and we will decide how to punish her." The lumbering military figure now known as Haraj leaned closer to the screen.

"You pathetic Juraians can come here then and pick up the pieces of her dismembered corpse," he growled in a way that made the Juraian official step back.

Haraj narrowed his blue eyes and smiled before giving a mock salute and cutting the transmission off.

After a moment of composing himself, Haraj removed his cape and stepped out of the dark room into a lavish, inviting hallway. As he walked towards the ornate staircase he heard voices and shuffling at the bottom of the steps. Reaching the bottom of the steps and peering around the corning he saw a light purple-haired girl and a young man with short spiked black hair. The girl looked up.

"Oh, hey Dad, I didn't know you were here," the girl chirped.

"I hope you don't mind that I have a friend over for dinner tonight. His name is Tenchi," she said motioning to the man next to her.

Haraj smiled darkly.

"Not at all my dear Miyuki, not at all."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! Is copyright AIC/Pioneer Ltd.

All characters are property of their respected owners.

Wake Up Dreaming: A Tenchi Muyo! Story. Warning – even though this fic is rated M. Adult situations present in this chapter.

Chapter 5

"Dad! What happened to your hand?" Miyuki said rushing over to her father's side.

"Nothing, nothing, just an accident with some new equipment," Haraj said quickly brushing off his daughter's concerned prodding.

Tenchi stared at the big man's hand. Just looking at it made him absently rub his own arm as if it suffered. As his daughter inspected him making offhanded medical comments, Haraj looked straight ahead at Tenchi. His ice blue eyes seared into him, seemingly possessed. Tenchi zoned out for a moment before noticing that the large muscular man was staring at him.

He realized he hadn't spoken yet and quickly put his feet together and formally bowed for his alien host.

"My name is Tenchi Masaki. Thank you for letting me stay for dinner."

"Yes, my name is Haraj Leiko. Welcome to my estate. How did you say you met my daughter again?" Haraj responded absently, averting his gaze back towards his daughter.

He seemed to be speaking out of formality rather than a real interest. Tenchi was about to respond but Haraj spoke again, this time with more focus.

"Miyuki, I'm sorry I won't be able to join you and your friend – Tenchi, was it? I have important things I need to take care of at the laboratory. Perhaps another time?" Haraj said quickly.

He gently pulled his arm from his daughter's grasp and walked slowly past Miyuki brushing off her concerned questioning, stopping momentarily to look down at Tenchi. He gave him one more odd stare before quickly exiting the house. It was quiet until the heavy door shut, signally that he was gone.

"That was weird," Miyuki mumbled, "He never does any work unloading equipment anymore." She stared at the doorway for a moment before looking back at Tenchi. He just shrugged not knowing how to respond to her.

"Well, I guess its just you and me," Miyuki said.

Her words left Tenchi with a tingling sensation running down his back. How many times had he heard that one in a house full of women who all wanted him all for themselves?

"C'mon Tenchi, let's eat! You must be even hungrier then I am – with not eating all day and all." Miyuki said pulling Tenchi from his thoughts.

"Sure," Tenchi answered, beginning to follow Miyuki's lead.

He gave one last glance at the front door as if the big man in the uniform still lingered there. He had a strange feeling about Haraj Leiko but it was quickly forgotten as his stomach let out a loud embarrassing grumble.

***

For a while there was no sound other then the polite munching of food and the soft clattering of chopsticks against plates and bowls. Miyuki and Tenchi sat across from each other at a small table.

"So, tell me," Miyuki started "What is she really like?"

Tenchi looked up.

"Ryoko," Miyuki said. "What's she like if she isn't the Demon of Jurai."

Tenchi frowned at her use of that name but silently looked back down and picked at his food.

"She's…" Tenchi looked upwards past Miyuki thinking about how to describe what he saw in Ryoko. "Well, she's just… I don't know," Tenchi paused for a moment.

Miyuki stopped eating and rested her chin in her hands waiting.

"I was always taught to be serious. Disciplined and stable. Calm and level headed. But I didn't really like it – I mean – I do – I'm used to it and I think it's helped me a lot, but sometimes I just wanted to do whatever I wanted and not worry about the consequences, you know?" Tenchi said coming to another temporary halt. "One day I did – and because of it, Ryoko was set free," Tenchi said fondly remembering the day that he mischievously stole the keys to the cave gate from his grandfather.

Miyuki arched a thin purple eyebrow her interest peaked. Tenchi gently shook his head.

"That's a long story for another time, though." He cleared his throat and started again. "She's just… the free spirit that I always wanted to be. She's impetuous and wild and aggressive and funny… and beautiful. Absolutely beautiful… even when she cries. Especially when she cries." Tenchi lingered on those words. "I can see so deeply into her when she looks at me that special way. She's spiritually the strongest person I've ever met. I don't know everything she went through but the things I do know are… well I don't know how she survived it. And yet, at the same time, she has one of the most gentle and fragile hearts I've ever seen in anyone," Tenchi breathed thinking about her. He chuckled softly. "It's hard to make her show that though. I guess I had the advantage there since she had a soft spot for me before I even met her."

Miyuki seemed captivated as Tenchi described Ryoko. Tenchi stopped his whimsical portrayal for a moment and started laughing to himself.

"One time she – she got a hold of some old sappy romance graphic novels for girls and she – tried to 'act out' the stories to try and get me to fall in love with her, storybook style and all!" Tenchi finished and could barely contain himself remembering the peculiar episode.

Miyuki covered her mouth but also began laughing. After they calmed down Tenchi grew quiet. He meant to keep talking but Miyuki's simple question made him yearn for Ryoko even more. Miyuki took his silence to mean that he was done telling her about the reformed pirate for now.

Tenchi sighed remembering two of his most precious memories from that first year that she came into his life. The first was when he appeared on the Souja with the help of Tsunami just in time to catch Ryoko as she fell backward reeling from Kagato's attack. He would never forget the look on her face as she spoke. The color drained from her face as if she was looking into the eyes of a ghost.

"Are you real?" she muttered like she was in a dream state.

Ryoko's stunned face melted into a soft expression of relief as Tenchi's second memory smeared the end of the first. He held Zero securely in his arms on board Dr. Clay's ship. She rested her head tenderly against his chest. He knew that the android wasn't the real Ryoko but, it did display the emotions that Ryoko felt and wasn't quite able to control or understand fully.

He turned to the glass chamber and watched with understanding as the real Ryoko pounded angrily on it from the other side staring daggers at Zero. Washu told him then that Zero was really a part of Ryoko and that she was going to make her whole by combining the two together. That was good enough for him at the time but Ryoko filled him in on what really happened months later.

Tenchi just smiled thinking about her and looked back down towards the table. He wasn't sure how much time had passed during his daydream but it must've been short because he noticed Miyuki still staring back at him from across the table, blushing. She realized that even though Tenchi wasn't going to say anymore, she still watched as if her gaze would make him continue.

"Well, she certainly sounds like… something else," Miyuki said.

"Yeah," Tenchi responded looking down at his plate thinking about what he had said.

Ryoko. She was beautiful. She was headstrong. She was passionate. She was possessive. She was wild and truly free. She was quick to anger. She was a sexual being. She was the jealous type. She wore her heart on her sleeve. She was madly in love with a simple Earthling. Most importantly Tenchi was that Earthling and he loved everything about her.

Miyuki and Tenchi sat in silence a little bit longer, each picking at their food.

"Well, its getting late," Miyuki said. "Do you wanna get some sleep? We can start out again early tomorrow. I think we'll be able to search most of the crash site if we get out of here by seven thirty," Miyuki said gathering up her plate.

Tenchi looked up as if snapped out of deep thought.

"Yeah – yeah that sounds great. Thanks for dinner by the way. It was good," Tenchi said standing up and collecting his own dish. Miyuki smiled.

"I'm glad you liked it," she said blushing. "Oh let, me take care of that," she said snatching Tenchi's plate and quickly making her way to the sink. Tenchi stared blankly at the strange girl and nervously scratched the back of his head.

***

_A soft white moonlight crept into the windows of the large Masaki household bathing the wooden Japanese interior with strange contrasting shapes of light. A perfectly serene night, everyone sleeping peacefully awaiting the emergence of a new day. Suddenly a muffled thump disturbed the tranquil home. Then some more shuffling followed by another thump. And it came from the second floor. The hallways were empty. Yet something stirred behind one of the sliding doors. Another bump. The sound was coming from Tenchi's room._

_Tenchi grunted and powerfully forced a surprised Ryoko against the wall. Tenchi smiled feeling her sigh into his mouth as he covered her lips with his. He held one of her arms firmly over her head against the bedroom wall and confidently gripped the underside of her bare thigh eliciting more erotic moans. Ryoko hungrily returned his passionate kisses and clawed at his back with her free hand but remained submissive. Tenchi's breathing was heavy and he let go of Ryoko's arm deciding to run his hand through her spiky hair gripping the back of her head tightly. He looked into her golden eyes, craving more of her. _

_Now Ryoko decided to play rough and pushed herself away from the wall against Tenchi kissing him and tugging at his shirt. The couple stumbled awkwardly across the room until Tenchi tripped and fell backward onto his bed making sure to pull Ryoko down with him. Ryoko recovered quickly and climbed over him pulling and yanking his shirt until it came over his head._

_She tossed it aside and hunched over him continuously pressing her lips against his. Tenchi ran both his hands through her hair encouraging her. She moaned in pleasure and ran her nails down his chest urging him on as well. After attempting to undo some part of her clothing without looking and failing, Tenchi placed both hands on Ryoko's cheeks and was finally able to pry her face from his. _

_He stared into her glowing eyes burning with an intense desire. She didn't speak. She just stared back deeply into his eyes panting heavily. Both her hands finally came up and gripped his wrists. Tenchi lovingly caressed the side of her face and pushed one hand up into her hair again. Ryoko turned and gingerly dragged her lips across his arm kissing any exposed flesh she could reach in his embrace. Tenchi just watched her in fascination as he slowly pulled his hand down just letting his fingertips lightly touch her face. Ryoko moaned with the soft sensual contact and left cool kisses along her lover's arm as it moved until she reached the base of his hand. Then her own slender fingers gently worked their way up his arm and hand until she could intertwine them with his. She made soft cooing sounds and affectionately nuzzled the palm of his hand. _

_She barely opened her eyes but Tenchi could see the soft glowing light they emitted in the pitch black of his room. She looked seductively down into his eyes and erotically licked her lips before slowly wrapping them around his middle and index fingers. Tenchi felt his own desire for her heat up to almost uncontrollable levels as Ryoko's warm saliva coated his fingers and he suddenly twisted until she was the one under him. _

"_Ryoko," he moaned softly before pressing his lips against hers again and again._

_She tried to turn the tables on him several times and each time, he made sure she stayed under him. He pulled unceremoniously at her clothes and she helped him by phasing out of them, leaving herself completely naked before him. Tenchi quickly worked his own remaining sleepwear off while keeping up his lips fastened to hers. She moaned and breathed heavily wrapping her legs invitingly around Tenchi's waist. Tenchi encircled his arms protectively around her and kept her body pressed against his, successfully merging with her. _

_He groaned in pleasure and looked down at his lover. Her glowing eyes illuminated the gleaming sheen of sweat on her face just slightly as she contorted in primal satisfaction. Tenchi pushed insistently against her svelte form and the cyan haired space pirate arched her back in response, letting him move deeper. She clung to him as their passions vehemently reached new heights. And just before their impending climax, it happened. _

_There was a small sound at the door. Neither of them should have been able to hear it in their throes of lovemaking but Tenchi did. He turned his head very slowly towards the doorway of his bedroom and saw it. His heart hammered away in his chest, now in a panic. The door was open just barely but he could she her porcelain face as clear as day through the crack. Her pink eyes glistening with tears of pain and both of her proper hands were covering her mouth to stifle any sounds she might make. "Aeka…" Tenchi whispered._

***

Tenchi bolted upright, gasping for air. Both his hands were balled into tight fists and he held the bed sheets tightly. After a moment of staggering breaths he leaned backward letting himself fall back onto the big soft bed. And either someone was still sitting up in bed with him or a certain body part was still at full mast. Tenchi groaned and rolled to his side, noticing that his nightmare as usual, hadn't quite let him finish with his dream girl. He wiped his sweat-covered forehead on the pillow in the room that he was allowed to stay in and let out a frustrated moan. He had enough trouble falling asleep as thoughts of Ryoko's whereabouts danced in his head torturing him. Why did he have to have _that_ dream tonight, just as the sandman finally decided to let him rest?

He sighed looking towards the window of the room as his body relaxed. He hated that dream. It was the farthest he ever got with Ryoko in his unconscious fantasy world but it ended the same way every time. Dreams of _getting caught_ plagued him ever since he started feeling a little closer to Ryoko and now, even after he knew he loved her and was away from the others, they still haunted him.

He took a deep breath and let out a strained grunt as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up again. He sat there for a moment on the edge of the bed before rubbing his face with both hands attempting to wipe the sleep from it.

Yawning sleepily, Tenchi stumbled out of his room, groping around the dark in search of the restroom.

"No where did Miyuki say it was again?" Tenchi said to no one as he searched the hall. "Ah, there," he whispered finding it.

He fumbled around for a second finally locating the light switch. He flipped it on and stared himself down in the mirror.

"Idiot," he said to his reflection.

No, maybe idiot wasn't quite right. Naïve. Yes, that was the word. The statute of limitations may have made Ryoko's crimes disappear on paper but people don't forget that easily. He managed to convince Miyuki, and his housemates seemed to forgive Ryoko's past crimes for the most part but it was a big universe. Why couldn't life be less complicated?

"I guess your life can't be simple if you're a prince of an alien planet," Tenchi answered his mind. "Ryoko," he sighed. "Why can't I find you!" he growled slamming his fist on the sink top. Pain shot up through his fist and he grunted, therapeutically rubbing his injured knuckles. Tenchi furrowed his brow as low mumbles made their way to his ears.

At first he thought he was hearing things but stealthily creeping out of the bathroom, he strained his ears and listened to the voices grow louder. Edging ever closer to the steps, Tenchi could make out two voices. Miyuki's father, Haraj and someone else he didn't recognize.

"Well?" Haraj said impatiently. "What do you have?"

"Well sir, the machine we constructed from the recovered plans you gave us is working perfectly. The absorption system and recharging mechanics are working beautifully, in perfect harmony to subdue the gem's power," the unknown voice explained.

"Then how is it possible that this happened?" Haraj responded angrily.

Tenchi had refrained from looking around the corner but he quietly pressed himself against the wall and slowly as he could, managed a peek. Haraj was standing over a small pale man in a long laboratory coat shaking his injured fist over him. The small man was visibly afraid and hid behind his clipboard of documents.

"Well sir, we uh – we suspect that some of her powers may not be given to her through the gems and she instead was… born with them?" The small man's voice grew in pitch as he neared the end of his sentence.

Haraj growled in anger and the scientist was quick to add more.

"B-b-but this – is only a theory of course. We've – been – uh, working around the clock like you told us too but some of this… Well its far beyond our comprehension, sir," he finished shakily. "We did manage to get some great data on brainwave activity though," the man said, some of his confidence returning as he consulted his papers. "Immense amount of brain activity, sir. Far more then the average humanoid. High levels of mental thought transference," he paused awaiting Haraj's approval. When he nodded for the man to continue, there was a shuffling of papers. "Now, some of the other scientists in the base think that it is simply emanating, if you will, a natural happening of her genetic makeup."

"And? What do you think, Hayashima?" Haraj inquired, his anger seemingly quelled by the knowledge being bestowed upon him.

"Well," Hayashima said in a matter of fact tone. "I personally think that she isn't here alone."

"What?" Haraj said in a hushed whisper. "But who? We didn't find anything else at the crash site."

"I'm not sure," Hayashima answered. "But, I think that while some of that mental energy is indeed natural, the massive readings we are actually able to detect are deliberately being broadcast outward. A uh – distress beacon, if you will – a call for help."

It was quiet for a moment. Tenchi swallowed hard now, wide-awake. As the two men spoke, the puzzle pieces mentally fit together as each fragment of information revealed itself. Ryoko. They had to be talking about Ryoko. It was just too much of a coincidence, and too much of the information revealed by Hayashima's _studies_ wasn't new to Tenchi.

"Just get as much more as you can. You have a blood sample, correct?" Haraj grumbled jarring Tenchi from his thoughts.

No response. Tenchi assumed Hayashima shook his head.

"Some of the officials on Jurai are already on their way here and they want her for their own purposes. And no one is going to take her life away from me, do you understand? It belongs to me and I am going to be the one that has the pleasure of removing her from this plane." Haraj sneered.

"Y-yes sir," came Hayashima's clipped response.

"Good, now get out of here," Haraj said waving a hand dismissively at the thin man. "I'll be down bright and early to see your progress," he added as Hayashima reached for the door.

Tenchi had heard enough. He sprinted down the hallway back toward his room, skillfully not making a sound. He slid the door closed being careful not to let the clasp make a clicking sound when it reached the wall. Tenchi angrily searched under his pillow until he pulled the long wooden hilt of the Tenchi-ken from its hiding space.

"Ryoko," he said with determination, and turned back towards the door.

***

_**A/N:**__ I usually won't be leaving these but I thought I should acknowledge some of my readers. First of all thank you for all criticisms. I truly did take them to heart and tried my best to resolve some of the issues mentioned. _

_Previous chapters will be revisited and edited to incorporate some of these changes – so a heads up to readers following this fic – that you may want to re-read the earlier chapters after they are 'fixed.' _

_Don't worry; I'll let you know when those changes happen. Thanks for everything so far – hopefully you like the story and keep on reading it!_

_Please – feel free to PM me any additional comments! _

_~ undead-hokusai _


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo! Is copyright AIC/Pioneer Ltd.

All characters are property of their respected owners.

_**A/N:**__ At the beginning so you all can go back to previous chapters – like I said in my last A/N. __ALL__ chapters have been reposted! (6.13.09) __No__ major plot changes were made – however, some new things have been added. Format has been changed for an easier (and more correct) read. More comments and crits are always welcome. ~ undead-hokusai_

Wake Up Dreaming: A Tenchi Muyo! Story.

Chapter 6

_Ryoko's breaths came out in short shallow puffs. She felt sticky and sweaty but completely pleasant. She opened her eyes slowly and looked down to see the cause of her current state. She smiled and gently lifted a hand to caress Tenchi's flushed cheek. His short, black hair was matted down on his forehead and his chest, while heaving, was quickly relaxing as he and his lover bathed in the afterglow of their affections. _

_Ryoko let her arms relax and she sank down resting her weight on top of him. She left a soft trail of kisses from his face down to his neck and finally stopped at his chest where she decided to rest her head. She frowned and suddenly felt very cold._

"_Tenchi," she mumbled and pulled the thick blue comforter of Tenchi's bed up under her chin and closed her eyes trying to snuggle into his embrace. The warmth had vanished and the feeling of skin was replaced by the cold smooth surface of glass. Her eyes snapped open when a voice she'd been trying to forget forced its way into her ears. _

"_Well done Ryoko. Well done." Kagato's calm sinister voice rang out in the eerie crystal halls of Souja. "You've done exactly what needed to be done," he sneered. "I knew you could do it. Pretending to 'fall in love' with that human boy to get close enough to steal me Tsunami was absolutely brilliant. I do admit, you are a cunning warrior, for all your defects," he said coldly. _

"_No! No, I didn't pretend! I'm not pretending!" Ryoko yelled defiantly from the cold floor. "I do love him! I do! Please, take anything you want! Anything but him!" _

_Ryoko was crying, lying on the crystal clear floor in her black and red jumpsuit, smearing blood on the smooth surface. Her own blood. She crawled to her feet but Kagato appeared before her and quickly hit her with enough force to send her flying several feet back. _

"_NO! You worthless, broken, piece of trash! You feel what I say you feel!" Kagato yelled, his normally calm visage replaced by intense anger. "It seems we'll have to take drastic measures to teach you this time Ryoko. I don't know what's wrong, it hasn't taken you this long to learn a lesson in a quite some time." _

"_No! Don't!" Ryoko pleaded from the ground. _

"_Don't worry, I won't but you will," Kagato replied an evil grin appearing on his pale, ghost white face. _

_An unconscious Tenchi appeared before him and Ryoko stood up. Red energy focused into her hand and she tightly clenched her fist, elongating the orb into her signature red beam saber. Ryoko fought back as hard as she possibly could but her limbs were no longer hers to control. _

"_Kagato, please! Take Tsunami! Take anything! Anything but him! I do love him, I do!" Ryoko begged hysterically trying to stop the obvious scenario from unfolding._

_Unable to command her physical actions, her sword stuck straight out, and Tenchi's limp body was thrust forward. Ryoko screamed at the top of her lungs as the sword penetrated his chest, the hot energy burning through muscle, flesh and bone. _

_She couldn't feel her arms or legs but that didn't stop them from shaking uncontrollably as Kagato's chilling laughter echoed in every direction around her. Ryoko stood frozen staring straight ahead into the lifeless face of the only thing that mattered to her._

"_Tenchi! TENCHI!" she yelled, as if her voice could bring her love back to life._

***

Ryoko awoke with a start and quickly curled into a fetal position on the cold floor of her prison. Much to her dismay, the metallic arms that had been holding her came back to life after only a few short hours of inactivity. Although now the limbs did not suspend the ex-pirate in mid-air, they simply restrained her and kept her from moving too far out of their range of motion.

She rolled onto her back and leaned her head back exposing her neck and moaned painfully. Mournful tears streaked down her face making clean lines through the dirt on her face. She shivered as the cold air bit at her exposed skin. The room was spinning and she felt dehydrated and weak. The energy that her gem normally gave to sustain her body was being drained away and she felt it taking its toll.

"Please be alive Tenchi. Please help me. Tenchi," she said as the spinning darkness closed in around her.

***

Doctor Hayashima sat behind a desk and scratched his chin thoughtfully as he watched the struggling space pirate on a view screen.

"Tenchi. Tenchi. What is that?" he said to himself.

He'd been racking his brain for days trying to find out what that word was and its significance to the space pirate Ryoko. She kept repeating it, so he was convinced that it was something he needed to research. He had nothing to go on though so he didn't feel it necessary to reveal anything to Lord Haraj just yet. Only one hit appeared in his computer's database at the moment. He hit several keys expanding the search in an adjacent monitor and let the machine run a few seconds before opening the single file already found.

A primitive backwater world in Juraian territory called Earth had the word in its language and a single definition to go along with it. One of the planet's dialects called Japanese listed the meaning of the word as _Heaven and Earth_. While that was all fine and good, Hayashima failed to see any connection to Ryoko – or to anything of importance for that matter. So far every other search came up with nothing.

Hayashima rubbed his tired eyes and scanned all the information he could get his hands on for the fifth time that night. And all that information wasn't much. Although the planet was densely populated, Earthlings had not yet discovered deep space travel or the existence of extra terrestrial life as a whole species. Hayashima scrolled through other mundane statistics of the planet and yawned.

"This little mud-ball has to hold the key, but how?" he questioned himself aloud. "Hm, what's this?" he said, stopping abruptly and leaning close to the computer screen scratching the stubble on his chin.

The scientist stumbled on one tidbit of data that was particularly interesting. The notoriously feared space pirate, Kagato, had been killed in the same solar system of the Earth – nearby the single moon of the tiny planet. Hayashima attempted to call up any more information on that subject alone and again only one hit occurred. Apparently a First-Class Detective Mihoshi Kuramitsu from the Galaxy Police was involved somehow but that was all Hayashima was able to uncover on the matter. Both Jurai, and the Galaxy Police Headquarters deemed Detective Kuramitsu's official police report on the incident 'top secret.'

Hayashima sighed and massaged his temples, leaning back in his chair. A strange beeping noise quickly startled the thin man out of his thoughts. He turned to the second monitor on his desk and tilted his head. In flashing blue letters, _two results found for 'Tenchi'_ appeared on the screen. The small scientist let a twisted smile work its way onto his face and he opened the queue. A frustrated grunt escaped his throat and the smile quickly turned into a grimace. As he tried to access the files, large red letters, exclamation points, and octagon shapes flashed all over the screen and kept popping up. 'Restricted, top secret, authorization required, and several other terms that all basically meant the same thing blocked the information feed. Almost every flashing warning was also stamped with the symbol for the ruling family of the Juraian Empire.

"We'll see about this," Hayashima said to himself in a determined voice. "But who can break this level of encryption? Certainly no one in this facility…"

Another yawn escaped the weary man and he shut off the monitor.

"Might as well get a few hours sleep before Lord Haraj arrives," he said.

***

Tenchi moved with determination towards the sliding door of his guest room. He gripped the Tenchi-ken tightly and he felt the hidden Juraian energy lying dormant within the wooden hilt ready to ignite its brilliant blue blade in an instant. Just as the young prince moved past the bed a sudden wave of dizziness hit him like a truck. He dropped the ancient sword hilt and knelt down clutching his head with one hand and the other resting on the side of the large bed to balance himself.

"Tenchi! TENCHI!" Ryoko's voice resonated in his mind.

As soon as is happened, it was gone. Tenchi immediately went from feeling nauseous to feeling perfectly fine. He rubbed his forehead and looked around the dark room, confused.

"Ryoko?" he whispered to the shadows.

Nothing. It was more then a coincidence now, though. Right? Tenchi looked down at the Tenchi-ken on the floor. The two burgundy gems embedded in the hilt twinkled like beacons of light in the dark universe of his room. _Was she calling him?_ Tenchi's mind quickly raced back to the distant memory of Washu's laboratory again and the strange feeling that Ryoko called his name before Clay abducted her.

Was it even possible that Ryoko could call to him like that? He knew she had many strange abilities, but he didn't think that she could read minds or speak telepathically. Well, she did have some form of mental capabilities. Other memories from when Ryoko first moved into his home flooded his mind. Well, that 'tail' she wore sometimes definitely proved it. It was nothing more then a fabric ornament, yet it twitched and moved with her mood when she wore it. Oh, and that time we went to my great aunt's bathhouse hotel. Tenchi remembered unloading all of Aeka and Sasami's luggage from his father's van only to have Ryoko mentally lift and shove all the pieces including Tenchi himself back into the vehicle after getting mad at him for refusing to flirt with her.

"You know what, she can speak in someone's mind," Tenchi confirmed aloud to himself.

She was telepathically linked to Washu and Ryo-Ohki. He was reminded from his other memories that she mentioned it to him off-handedly. If that was the case, then she just might be trying to reach out. It also meant she needed help if she couldn't blow the place up herself.

Tenchi quietly cracked his door open and peered out into the long hallway. Everything was dark and silent now. Haraj was nowhere to be seen. Tenchi narrowed his eyes and closed the door retreating back to the bed. He sat down and started to formulate what he was going to do.

Haraj said he was going to go down to some facility to see if Hayashima's research was going well. Was that the same place Ryoko was being kept? He wasn't sure but it was a hell of a lot closer to finding her then checking out the crash site of the Juraian ship.

Miyuki. The girl's name suddenly left a bitter taste in his mouth. Did she know? Was she purposely leading him around so that Haraj could do what he wanted to Ryoko? The thoughts ran through Tenchi's mind and he was suddenly sorry he had opened up at all to the girl. On the other hand, Haraj seemed surprised when Hayashima mentioned the fact that Ryoko could have a space pirate companion lurking around. Maybe Miyuki didn't have anything to do with her father. After all, she didn't seem to have the same intense malicious feelings for Ryoko that he did. She just seemed a little misguided. Maybe she was better at hiding her true beliefs. After going around in circles with himself for several minutes Tenchi decided to exclude Miyuki from any of his plans and let her position come out in time. He looked over at the clock in the room and sighed.

He didn't like the idea of leaving Ryoko captive somewhere one bit. Unfortunately he didn't have the slightest clue as to where she was. He rigidly crawled back into bed and pulled the comforter over his head. He had decided. He would wait for Haraj to start moving and then he'd follow him. It seemed simple enough but it left Tenchi feeling on edge and unable to sleep.

***

Dead. That's all she felt. It was the best way to describe it, really. Princess Aeka sat alone in her room calmly going through the motions, brushing her long violet hair again and again. She felt like crying but she didn't know if she could anymore. She spent the past few days crying and being angry with anyone she saw. She lifted her chin and looked into the large mirror before her. Her pink eyes were swollen and red with grief.

Her thin eyebrows unexpectedly draped a mask of rage over the Princess' delicate features and she slammed the expensive brush she had been using down onto the dresser top, breaking it.

"Aaaaaah!" she yelled, letting more tears spill from her regal eyes.

Why didn't Lord Tenchi save himself with his Light Hawk Wings? Why didn't Tsunami protect him? Why couldn't Washu have done something? Why couldn't I have done something? She rolled the thoughts around in her head again and again.

"Ryoko! _**You**_ were the one that disobeyed his wishes and went over there with him anyway! This is all _**your**_ fault!" Aeka yelled, releasing her resentment on her biggest rival and her best friend. She let her face fall into her waiting hands and she sobbed. "Why didn't _**you**_ protect him? Why didn't you protect him?" she cried.

Washu leaned against the wall right outside of Aeka's door listening to her heart-wrenching wails. Her face was a mask of stone but she felt the same way. Maybe even worse. She not only loved Tenchi but her one and only daughter was lost as well. They never did have the greatest relationship but Washu always thought that was something they could work on. Now they never would.

She had never seen such a build up of power. Tenchi's Light Hawk Wings truly were impressive but it seemed that they had caused his own demise this time. The short redhead sighed and stepped away from the wall and started walking, leaving Aeka to grieve in private.

Aeka stifled her crying enough to get over to her large bed and unceremoniously plop down on it.

"Are you glad, father? You got what you wanted," Aeka said to the cold void that was her bedroom. Azusa never did like Tenchi and the only thing he thought was worse then Tenchi, was the idea of Tenchi and his daughters together. The young princess sighed and followed her routine, delicately pulling the sheets back and sliding under them. She didn't feel like going to sleep but crying often over the past few days was exhausting and she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

***

_Aeka grumbled to herself and continued folding clothes._

"_Where is that monster-woman?" she asked the empty laundry room. "Its her turn to do the laundry," Aeka complained folding another article of clothing._

_She wiped some of her hair out of her face and looked down proudly at the clean stack of meticulously folded white fabrics. A knowing smile crept onto her delicate face as she imagined how Lord Tenchi would praise __**her**__ for doing hers and Ryoko's chores today. She smoothed her magenta kimono and glided over to the primitive Earthling washing machine and proceeded to deposit another load of dirty laundry into it. After taking her time measuring the precise amount of detergent to put in and making sure everything was carefully in its right place, she started the machine._

_The living room of the Masaki house was empty when Aeka came in with the basket of clean clothes. _

"_Sasami!" Aeka called._

"_Yes, Aeka?" Sasami said in a singsong voice, popping her head out from the kitchen._

"_I've finished the first half of the laundry and the rest is in the machine now," she said making sure Sasami knew it was done and that Aeka had done it, in case Ryoko came sneaking around and wanted to pretend she had done her share of chores. "Where is Lord Tenchi? Isn't it about time for dinner?" Aeka chimed, making small talk with her sister who had retreated back to the kitchen. _

"_Almost," came Sasami's reply. "I think he's at the shrine with Grandpa. He came back a few hours ago with a new barrel of fresh carrots from the field, so he should be training now."_

_When no response came from her sister, Sasami stopped stirring her latest concoction and called back out to the living room. _

"_Why don't you go check to see if he's done?"_

_She smiled when she heard Aeka squeak with giddy excitement._

"_I'll do that Sasami. Thank you!" the First Princess said quickly while slipping her sandals on._

_Sasami shook her head giggling and lifted her ladle to her lips tasting its contents. The small light-haired cook wrinkled her nose thoughtfully and placed the utensil aside._

"_Needs more spice," she said reaching for a small jar._

_Aeka worked her way through the greenery to the long flight of steps leading up to the Masaki shrine. She smiled and began her climb. She felt extra pleased with herself today and it was about to get better after she personally summoned Tenchi and walked hand in hand with him back to the house to enjoy a wonderful meal. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she failed to realize the lack of noise before she got to the top of the steps. She frowned and pushed a lock of purple hair back over her ear as she craned her neck to try and find any sign of Lord Tenchi and Katsuhito. It was then that she spotted Katsuhito opening the small shrine office door._

"_Excuse me!" Aeka chirped. "Lord Kastuhito!" she said using the name her brother preferred to be called nowadays. "Isn't Tenchi here training? I've come to tell him that Sasami's dinner is almost prepared."_

"_I'm sorry, Aeka but Tenchi is not here. I let him go not too long ago. Perhaps you missed him on your way up here." Tenchi's grandfather said calmly._

"_No, I didn't see him on the steps," Aeka replied sweetly even though a familiar feeling was working its way into her._

"_Well he might be in the onsen already then, we worked up quite a sweat today," Katsuhito offered, even though he didn't look like he had personally done a thing._

"_Well, thank you, Lord Katsuhito. Have a pleasant evening," Aeka said bowing politely._

_Katsuhito returned the bow and smiled as Aeka started back towards the stairs. She waited until she was out of Katsuhito's field of vision before growling and stamping her foot. _

"_Ryoko!" she growled feeling her face flush with rage._

_She pulled her kimono up slightly and swiftly ran down the steps. She could almost feel the steam pouring out of her ears. Of course my day was too good to be true, she thought sourly, not enough Ryoko. As Aeka flew down the steps like a violet storm she heard the ex-pirate's familiar laugh just off the path leading down the mountain. She stopped and searched for the source quizzically. The laughter again reached her ears just a little further away this time. Aeka had been waiting for it though and followed it as best she could, gingerly crawling over the large slabs of rock that kept the shrubbery from growing onto the stairway to the shrine._

"_Ouch," Aeka hissed as a sharp branch scraped against her leg._

_She groaned and pulled her leg and kimono free from the greedy shrub and followed the direction she thought Ryoko's cheerful laughter was coming from. All of a sudden the princess caught sight of the pirate's signature cyan hairstyle and she ducked behind a tree. Narrowing her brilliant fuchsia colored eyes, Aeka peeked around the trunk of the tree and she felt her blood start to boil. She was alone with Tenchi._

_The young man of both Ryoko and Aeka's affections sat in a small patch of grass in the wooded area and watched Ryoko's every move as she energetically floated a few feet above the ground around him. He seemed relaxed, resting on his elbows. Ryoko let loose another hearty chuckle._

"_You should have seen yourself," she said. "Good ol' grandpa wiped the floor with you, and then some."_

_Tenchi just sighed but Aeka noticed that the young prince did indeed look like Katsuhito had given him the workout he spoke of earlier. His pants were dirty and had grass stains on the knees along with his shirt. He was sporting small cuts on his arms and he looked like he had been sweating._

"_I'd like to see you do better," Tenchi said to the floating woman._

_He seemed slightly annoyed. Ryoko stopped mid flight and looked down at him. A large Cheshire cat grin appeared on her face for a split second before being replaced by a mock pout._

"_Aw, what's wrong? Is __**My**__ Tenchi upset? Bad day?" Ryoko's demeanor changed from that of passive to blunt sexual provocation. "Why don't you let Ryoko make it all better," she said landing perpendicular to Tenchi and crawling over to him like a prowling jungle cat. She smiled and placed an outstretched arm on either side of her prey letting deliberately allowing his eyes to access her body's best curves._

_Aeka noticed that Tenchi did flinch but didn't get up and run. He began his usual stuttering and awkward chuckling as Ryoko started swirling her index finger on his chest._

"_R-ryoko. Come on, I'm tired," he said trying to put her off._

_Aeka sucked in a huge gasp of air and her nails dug into the bark of the tree as she continued to watch._

"_Oh, but Tenn – chiii! We could be __**tired**__ together," Ryoko said, smiling seductively and crawling over him. She noticed Tenchi's eyes fighting to stay on her face even with her ample cleavage directly in front of him. She leaned close to his ear and let her warm breath caress it before she whispered to him. "I promise it'll be a lot more fun then your normal… __**sword**__ practice," she said, every bit of the sentence dripping with innuendo._

_Tenchi backed away a little reverting more and more to his normal actions._

"_I – I'm s-s-sure I would, but uh…" he trailed off staring into Ryoko's face which matched his in redness, yet lacked the nervousness. _

_Aeka watched curiously. Ryoko now had a slightly awkward smile on her face and in an odd move; she stretched forward and rested her head on Tenchi's chest. Tenchi didn't move. As a matter of fact, much to Aeka's dismay, he reached forward with one arm and placed it on the back of Ryoko's head as she eased the rest of her weight onto his body and the ground. They were silent. Aeka looked down at the ground, her whole day seemed to be ruined. How come he won't do that with me? She thought to herself. Her head immediately snapped up to the sound of Ryoko's provocative moan._

"_Uuhn! Oh yeah, right – there! Ooh – just like that, Tenchi!"_

_Aeka watched with disgust – and envy – as Tenchi gently massaged Ryoko's exposed ear with his thumb and index finger. The green tail ornament attached to her light blue dress scrunched up and stretched out over and over in time with her moans and Tenchi's kneading. Tenchi just chuckled softly and continued to play with Ryoko's twitching ear even as she clutched fistfuls of his shirt. Aeka looked down, her cheeks red with jealousy. A quick glance back up and she saw Tenchi lying down completely on his back just gazing at the clouds idly chatting with Ryoko, who hadn't moved from her position on his chest. They were talking softly now and she couldn't hear what they were saying but she saw Ryoko making gestures with her hand in response to something Tenchi said._

_Aeka felt depressed and turned from the tree making her way back towards the steps. She wanted to jump into the opening and break them up, but her heart just wasn't into it. Maybe she would have felt differently if it wasn't the first time she had caught the two of them like that. She sighed and looked to the afternoon sun for guidance._

"_What if he chooses her? What should I do? Should I just leave or should I – be happy?" She said the last part of that sentence as if she had just swallowed a frog. _

_Sitting on the sidelines and watching Tenchi be happy with Ryoko – or any of the other girls for that matter was quite difficult to deal with, even if they were her friends. But, what if it happened? She shook her head and put on a bright smile. No, just because Tenchi had some time alone with Ryoko doesn't mean he's going to choose her, Aeka thought. After all, I may have been envious of her just now but there were plenty of times that I've gotten to be alone with Tenchi._

_Aeka sighed and the fake smile disappeared. Who was she kidding? The times she got with Tenchi were never like that. She always enjoyed the time alone but it was never as intimate as what she just witnessed. Aeka stopped, realizing she had already reached the door to the Masaki household and smoothed her kimono out before sliding the door open. Maybe she could genuinely be happy for them._

"_Sasami, Noike, I'm home," she said, sliding off her sandals._

_Something wet touched her hand. Aeka looked down puzzled and another droplet landed in her palm. She swiftly reached up and placed a hand on her face. The First-Crown Princess of Jurai was crying._

***

"It is time."

Haraj's dark voice slithered out of his mouth in the darkness of his mansion.


End file.
